Consequences
by angelhazel
Summary: ryosaku , Sequel to Finding Me Finding You. Meet Ryuuzaki Sakuno , witch extraordinaire, and her very human boyfriend. COMPLETE!
1. Default Chapter

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

Ringgg! Ringgg!

"Ryuuzaki residence."

"Moshi moshi, Mayu desu. Is that Sakuno-chan?"

"Aa, Hai! Mayu ba-chan, how are you?"

"Good, thanks. Sakuno-chan, there's something you need to know…."

-

Sakuno put down the phone more than two hours later. She was mired in thoughts. Making her way to the kitchen by instinct, she sank into a chair and waved a hand in the air. Her magic practice record book appeared on the kitchen table with a soft "pop". This whole business sounded rather important for the Ryuuzaki witches; she needed to take down notes.

Mayu told Sakuno all about an exciting discovery. It was a little difficult to absorb everything over the phone since Mayu could go on and on without pausing to breathe.

For the two hours, all Sakuno could get in were Ano's and Eto's; her enthusiastic aunt didn't wait for her to complete her responses. Now that her ears stopped ringing from her aunt's animated soliloquy, she could think properly.

According to Mayu, Keijiko had suddenly flown in from Europe, where she migrated to ever since she got married. Sakuno remembered meeting her Keijiko ba-chan once during the two years in Osaka; she was one of the three witches from Mayu's generation.

Cousins they may be, but Mayu and Keijiko couldn't be more different from each other. Mayu was flamboyant, to put it nicely; while Keijiko was always in neat tailored suits. Mayu was more of a Gypsy witch, running a fortune-telling business in her own living room, and selling miscellaneous potions as a sideline; while Keijiko was a research writer for a popular sci-fi journal, spending her days alternately buried in books and investigating unexplained phenomena on site.

A few years back, Keijiko had started converting some of the Ryuuzaki Clan's records and magic scriptures into electronic copies, "for better preservation and easy reference", in her spare time. And just the week before, Keijiko had found something of great interest in one of the oldest Ryuuzaki Clan Records.

The reference in the Clan records that Keijiko got interested in was a chapter entered in old Japanese by the granddaughter of Ryuuzaki. It was not precisely dated, but Keijiko estimated the timeframe to be about 800 years ago. The lifetime of the original Ryuuzaki was back when the Japanese people didn't have family names. Ever since Ryuuzaki asked for her powers to be perpetuated through her blood, the family had adopted her name for easier identification

This was what the granddaughter wrote in the family's first Clan Records:

"_I met them after sunset, three young men and a huge gray wolf. They found me on my own and asked me to assist them in a quest. I would receive gold if I agreed to the collaboration. From the dark auras I could detect, I believe their motives were not pure. The whole thing sounded suspicious, I didn't want to be involved in their schemes. I refused them, and they got aggressive._

_I cast Fire on them, but found that they were blessed with Protection so no magic could hurt their physical bodies. My fire-based spells were useless against them. If they could Protect themselves so well, why would they need me?_

_I couldn't attack them directly, could only Protect myself they couldn't harm me with magic either. I was starting to worry when Minoki-ba came. She was much stronger than me, being a White witch. The mere sight of her caused my attackers to panic. One of the men tried to grab me and run. While struggling against him, I tried to burn him but he was unaffected because of the Protection spell. _

_Minoki-ba threatened to slice off his arm with her Windblade, making him release me in a hurry. She then blew the strangers and the wolf away in an impressive Wind Tunnel. _

_Minoki-ba told me the strangers belonged to a race of demonized magic users who had been banished from our land long ago. When Obaa was young, she had helped chased away the banished ones. Those I met must have been in hiding all this time._

_The banished tribe, the dark race, the evil ones; those were only a few of the names they went by. No one knew where they went after leaving our land, only cared that they never come back again._

_Ryuuzaki Tatoru_"

The strength of the Dark Race couldn't be determined from the passage. They may have beaten a retreat then, but Keijiko had wondered whether later records would mention them again. These were after all also magic users; maybe their powers survived to this date, like the Ryuuzakis'.

Keijiko discussed the issue with Mayu, and that was how she ended up at Mayu's house, poring over the other Records in Mayu's possession. After spending some time researching, she found mentions of the Dark Race as late as the 18th century!

If the Dark Race was still out there, the Ryuuzakis witches of the 21st century may have a chance to meet this elusive tribe.

Meanwhile, Mayu was getting all worked up over a proper enemy to zap. Magic users were already rare in their generation, and while she had very successfully domesticated her magic for everyday use, what witch would turn down a chance to test her mettle?

She said to Sakuno, that in the face of the foe, Ryuuzaki witches would STAND their own, with their own, or die trying!

Sakuno was a unconvinced that they had to die to achieve anything, but she didn't have time to say so; on the other end of the line, her aunt was already engrossed in her plans to inform _all_ the other witches of the (maybe) impending conflict.

There were, actually, only two other Ryuuzaki witches beside themselves. Setsuko ba-chan was in USA, secretly using her abilities in an important government agency. Hanako Obasama, who was the last surviving witch of her generation, had retired to a peaceful garden home where she practiced her forte with nature.

Sakuno had met and liked them all when she was training with Mayu. As Mayu predicted, all of them turned up on her doorstep when they heard of the new successor who was could command white magic. It seemed that White witches were rare; most of the witches could only command the component red, blue, green and yellow elements.

Ryuuzaki herself used white magic, but the Clan's family tree noted only one other White witch so far. Ryuuzaki Minoki, eldest niece of Ryuuzaki, also the only one to have received direct training from Ryuuzaki. Sakuno the White witch caused quite a stir among her fellow witches.

* * *

A/N: Omattase! Thanks to all the reviewers of Finding Me Finding You, this sequel is dedicated to all of you, arigatou mina san! Special thanks to meme who gave me some ideas,started on this fic coz your emailgot my creative juices flowing, haha!


	2. C2

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

The next day, school went on as usual. Caught up with life in progress, Sakuno had managed to push all thoughts of the strange phone call last evening to the back of her mind.

In truth, she was facing rather more excruciating circumstances everyday.

It had been almost a month since Fuji and Inui schemed to have her and Ryoma trapped in the old storeroom. Sakuno was not surprised that Ryoma got thoroughly pissed at the tensai and the team's human-computer. She had been there watching as he trashed his two nosy senpais during practice, mercilessly and repeatedly.

Fuji didn't seemed to mind, he was still cheerful even as he was beaten soundly. The score was always so terribly one-sided that Sakuno began to feel pity for the tensai; she suspected Fuji might have been giving in to Ryoma slightly, but it was still a horrible scene to behold. Sakuno was pretty sure Fuji had never lost any matches before, at least not this badly. Thinking to let up on the ever-smiling senpai, he was always kind to her after all, she had decided not to berate him herself as well.

As for Inui, since all _he_ said after those tragic "revenge" matches was "_Ii_ data" in his scary voice, Sakuno felt he deserved whatever he got. And, to be perfectly honest, now that she had had a taste, she was reluctant to go near the creator of the infamous Inui juices. Just thinking about the vile tasting solutions and their effects sent chills up her spine.

By now, the boys had settled the score through tennis, and all was well again. The only one who was still hung up about the incident was Sakuno.

Was she setting rather high expectations? But, what else would a girl think when the guy she fell for held her close throughout the night? And then made her keep his almost new Seigaku Tennis Club Regular Jersey because he thought she needed it more? That jersey had a place of honor in Sakuno's new wardrobe; she studied it often, especially the bit on the inside of the zip, labeled "Echizen" in neat Kanji.

But, there was all. Since then, life carried on as before, just like the way water smoothed over after a pebble was thrown, the surface was disturbed only briefly. It was all back to the way he treated her before that night. The events of that fateful night were becoming such a vague impression that sometimes she truly doubted they had taken place.

Wasn't he supposed to treasure her now? He apologized and was so pleased when she accepted. And he had held her when she was freezing cold.

Sakuno was not sure if his actions meant the same to him as they did to her. All she could do was wait for him again. It wasn't easy just waiting for the last three weeks, but Sakuno remembered that Sumire asked her to be patient.

She was trying to stay for tennis practice more often now, and Ryoma would always walk her home after. They still hardly talk, either in school or outside.

Just like the way they were walking home now after his tennis practice, in silence. They walked together, but they were not _with_ each other. Sakuno gave an inaudible sigh. They didn't hold hands after school, they didn't go on dates, and he hardly smiled at her. Although she had to admit Ryoma usual expression was smirking, not smiling.

He was back to calling her Ryuuzaki, even though there were a few times when he had unintentionally called her given name.

It was as if that night never was.

Sakuno was hurt and confused. She rebuilt her social life, continued being friendly with her schoolmates, and he didn't say anymore about that issue.

Sakuno was afraid. Did he care for her at all? Was he put off by the way she literally threw herself at him? Her face still went red when she recalled her mindless actions at that time. Concern for their lives was no excuse for her behavior especially since Ryoma didn't even know there was a threat in the first place.

With her constant worrying, cold fingers of doubt had made their way into her mind. What if seeing Ryoma in her Premonition dream only meant that he would be there during that particular event? What if she was not meant to belong with him at all, not before and not after that night?

She thought of asking his feelings outright, but was worried that he was offended by her forwardness. She fervently wished Ryoma would say something soon. Did he or did he not like Sakuno? All the uncertainty in their relationship was giving Sakuno a big headache, and a throbbing heartache.

Thinking back, she had always made the first move, and Ryoma would reciprocate. That didn't sound like he was falling head over heels over her at all, she thought dejectedly.

If he didn't like her, she would rather he tell her, even if she would be heart-broken.

And if he liked her, he shouldn't keep quiet about it. There was no doubting her feelings for him after all.

And another thing, before Sakuno could tell Ryoma about her magic, Ryoma had to claim her as his mate. It was forbidden to voluntarily tell anyone outside the Clan about the witches, and there were strict rules dictating when the witch's mate could be brought into the secret.

Each Ryuuzaki witch could only accept a man once in her life. Many opt to stay single because of the harsh criteria governing their marriage. In the marriage customs of a Ryuuzaki witch, the outsider had to first ask a Clan elder for permission then present his love with a token as proof of his intentions. When the witch accepted, the man would be accepted into the Clan. The existence of the Ryuuzaki witches would then be revealed to him. If the man tried to withdraw his offer or spill the secret, it was the duty of the witch to ensure he was silenced.

There were only two ways to go about that. The witch could temper with the memory of the man, or kill him. However, only the most powerful witches, i.e. the white magic users, could direct a person's memory. For many centuries, white witches were not born to the Clan. In this time, witches had to choose their men very carefully or be forced to kill them if they turned out to be unacceptable.

The harsh practice ensured that the magic users were protected, and could have a chance at a happy marriage. Maybe it was very severe to the outsider men, but really, when you think about it, men who married Ryuuzaki witches have nothing on the women who marry into the Clan.

He didn't have to worry about having children who wielded magic, only some girls born under the family name were granted that gift. He didn't have to learn the long history of the Ryuuzakis unless he wanted to, unlike women like Sumire who were not given the option. All in all, men marrying into the Clan would have little trouble as long as they kept an open mind and loved their wives very much.

To Sakuno's knowledge, Keijiko was happily married to a kind and understanding husband. There was proof that the Ryuuzaki witches got lucky sometimes. Sakuno breathed easier at the thought.

But then again, that was one happily married Keijiko to three swinging singles: Mayu, Setsuko and even Hanako, in her early fifties, have yet to accept a man as husband. Her mind sidetracked for the moment, Sakuno wondered who would be the elder to preside over Hanako's ceremony, if there would be one. Hanako obaasama was from Sumire's generation, and there wasn't anyone else in the Clan alive and older than those two.

She briefly contemplated the probability of the boy walking besides her asking his ex-Tennis coach for permission to marry Sakuno, and quickly banished the thought. She couldn't come up with numbers like Inui did with his data, but suffice to say that the probability was depressingly low. Ryoma was hardly the romantic type, she thought ruefully.

She sneaked another peak at Ryoma. The truth was, both of them were too young to be thinking of life-long commitments. As worldly as Ryoma seemed, fifteen still fell short of the eighteen years of age when they would be acknowledged as adults, and things like marriage were for adults after all.

Sakuno knew all this, but her heart wouldn't stop clamoring for the things it couldn't have. For so many years, Echizen Ryoma was the prince of her dreams. It was difficult to shake off longtime dreams in a heartbeat. Sakuno made up her mind that if Ryoma never asked her, she would remain single and die lonely in her old age.

Perhaps she should get a cat and train it to be her familiar. A pet could keep her company and a familiar could further assist her in her magic. She could get one with golden eyes, she mused.

* * *

A/N: Pathetic, I know. Maybe she would even name it Ochibi ... 


	3. C3

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

He hurt all over. It was a slow, throbbing ache, which had started in his chest then spread all over his body, dulling his senses. The cause of his ailment, he knew, was walking beside him now.

He couldn't figure it out, what he felt for the girl and what he should do about her.

What happened now, after he finally managed to apologize to Sakuno, after she accepted graciously, after they more or less spent a night together? He was trying very hard to avoid thinking about a far away future with her in it; such things were too far beyond his understanding, and capabilities, as a fifteen year old.

A life-long commitment with Ryuuzaki Sakuno sounded intriguing, but a lifetime was a very, very long time, at least from where he stood. He had to keep reminding himself that he was fifteen, he was a teenager, and he was still very young. He would only be an adult after three more years, for goodness' sake.

Even though he often reminded himself of his tender age, adult-like thoughts would creep up on him every he let his guard down even a little. Holding Sakuno. Kissing Sakuno. Doing everything with Sakuno. Being brought up in the west, and having a pervert for a father, meant that he knew more about adult relationships than he wanted to.

Coupled with the vivid imagination of a teenager, Ryoma was in trauma. He often harbored thoughts about Sakuno that made him ashamed of himself. If Sakuno could read his thoughts, he feared that every time she turned around in class, it would be to slap him, not smile at him.

He lived in fear that he would one day let slip of his thoughts in his speech, so he avoided talking to her. He was afraid he would forget himself and touch her the way he desperately wanted to, so he keep a good distance between them. Not knowing how else to behave, he thought it best to keep quiet about his feelings and pretend to be unaffected when he was with her.

For almost a month, he tried to pretend he didn't think of her that way, and that all was well in his young life. He did his best to act like how he did before this onslaught of adult thoughts.

It hurt though, because he really _cared_. Even as he tried to keep a calm façade, watching her talking and smiling with other guys still raised his hackles, but of course he kept his anger to himself. He wanted to hold her, kiss her in front of all those other guys, but he knew what kind of trouble that would stir up. So everything boiled down to how well he could ignore the issues and pretend normalcy, even as he was burning and hurting inside.

He mentally pushed all the confusion out and away, slamming the figurative door hard; he had other things to think about, for example, his tennis. Tennis could fill his mind like nothing else, and he could whole-heartedly think about tennis without getting messed up.

His original plan to beat his Oyaji had expanded, thanks to Tezuka, to include the entire world. That meant that he had to work harder, work longer to achieve his dreams. He was willing to put in the effort, itching to improve above and beyond players like Nanjiroh, Tezuka and all the players he had yet to meet. There were few things that could motivate him, and tennis ranked as Number One. Coming a close second, were free food, Grape Ponta ™ and his pet, Karupin, all of equal importance.

Yes, he could safely think about tennis, the most important thing in his life was tennis. Not Sakuno. Tennis. People were more trouble than things and pets when you regard them as important. Trouble was bad, so it followed that Sakuno was bad for him.

Ignore the strange tugs on his heart and the urge to enfold her in his arms and protect her from the world. Ignore her. That sounded like the simplest solution. And that would free up his mind to concentrate on tennis. It was as easy as that!

Hmm, maybe not, since they were in the same class and saw each other everyday. There wouldn't be a day when he wouldn't wonder what it was like to be with her, especially when he was staring at her lovely hair or her innocent profile.

No. Ignore her. Think tennis. Think tennis practice. Think how glad he was every time she came to watch him play.

Of course he still walked her home after practice. It was on the way, and the least he could do every time she stayed till late. And it really wasn't very safe for a pretty girl like her to walk the quiet streets alone. The fierce Obaasan would surely blame him if anything happened to her precious _Mago_.

And of course he still ate the bento she prepared for his lunch, since she had gone to all that effort. Her cooking was really not bad, and she always made traditional dishes, which was more than he could say for his own mother. It would seem ungrateful of him not to accept her kindness, worse if he asked her to stop. She would probably think that her cooking was poor and that he never liked it. That she was rudely forcing him against his will, etc etc. Then she would cry and he would have that horrible feeling of letting her down. Making it up to her would be too much trouble, so he should just continue with the lunch arrangements.

Or so he tried to convince himself.

Ignore her. Walk her home. Ignore her. Eat lunch with her. Ignore her. Ignore her…

* * *


	4. C4

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

A/N: I am ashamed of myself ... I hv a lot more to post by now, but was holding out for reviews ... Big Hugs for Lana Usegi and :) , my heart overflows w gratitude for ur reviews sniffs

There's an OC in here, i'm trying to give Ryoma some competition but i couldnt figure out which of the characters to use, so i made one up ... heh heh ... think pervert like Nanjiroh and an attitude like Atobe ... and you are somewhere in the area i m looking at. I once read a novel with a vampire in it that stuck in my mind, the OC does something like that ... u will find out what later fushigi mystery!

Hope everyone has as much fun reading as i had writing, ja, mata ne!

* * *

Vincent du Cruc, seventeen, was of Normandy origin where he was born into a family of aristocrats. Tall and slim, topped with styled black hair, he had handsome features that many girls fell for on sight. His eyes were an unusual deep violet, charismatic with a hint of danger; he had a fine mouth, thin lips which curled just so to give a look of haughtiness. He was an exact copy of his father. By the same genetic inheritance, Vincent was a Nightwalker.

On the orders of his father, Le Comte du Cruc, Vincent was "walking" the streets of Tokyo, Japan, halfway across the globe from his home. His mission was to find Ryuuzaki the White witch. His father, and the rest of the Banished Tribe which had survived to this day, coveted the magic of the most powerful witch known to them.

It was a mission that had been repeated several times over the centuries, always ending in failure. Vincent was of the opinion that this was also a wasted trip, but did anyone ask him? No.

Why they persisted after so many centuries, was beyond Vincent. Sure, the family history had been forced down his throat since he was five, and he could regurgitate like a pro. The old-time magic users had altered their bodies with magic in the search for greater power. Nightwalkers, Shape-shifters, Werewolves and more unnatural beings were created.

The magic community termed them the Dark Race, the Evil Ones, and shunned them for eternity. The Dark Race was strong, and that made everyone else afraid. They teamed up and banished every last one of the Dark ones from the ancient land. The Banished Tribe founded new homeland and flourished on distant lands where no one but them commanded magic.

Vincent's ancestor made his home in Normandy, France. The magic was passed down through the generations, and in the 18th century, they became a titled family. By now they were respected by other nobles, and feared by the commoners for the mysterious power they held.

The magic was useful, thought Vincent, but nothing more than a useful commodity. He made good use of his. But he didn't need or want more, unlike his father who was obsessed with gathering more and more power. Vincent, strapping young male that he was, directed his obsessions elsewhere, but his father's orders were not to be defied.

There was an ancient scripture, written long, long ago, that greater power could be achieved if White magic was used to cast the spell that could change the very nature of man to improve his command of magic. The scripture was written when the most powerful of them all was Ryuuzaki the White.

Vincent's ancestors had trouble getting a White witch to help them, because White witches were generally known to be holier-than-thou characters who would zap dark magic users into dust as soon as look at them. Ryuuzaki was definitely a stereotype, and her descendants inherited those annoying traits.

However, Ryuuzakis were the only other magic users known to the Dark Race, ever since magic had been lost to the rest of the world. Over the centuries, the Banished Tribe had tried to contract the aid of Ryuuzaki witches several times, at the risk of being reduced to dust, and had found that the clan didn't produced White magic users anymore. In spite of that, almost every other century, a member of the Banished Tribe would recall the scripture and go on a quest for Ryuuzaki witches, white or otherwise.

This time round, the one who recalled the scripture had a son to do the legwork. Vincent wished someone had warned him there were many Ryuuzakis in Japan. It was his third week in Tokyo, and he still had two more Ryuuzaki residences to go, according to the address directory, and after which there were many more cities to search. Three weeks and he had barely scratched the surface on this mission.

If something didn't give soon, Vincent decided, he would fake his disappearance from this earth and settle down for a quiet, normal life in this metropolitan, hide where even his father wouldn't be able to find him. The old man would never leave their ancestral home for Japan: he feared the witch almost as much as he wanted her power.

It was late afternoon when Vincent found the second last address on his list. The two-storey house was quiet, it seemed that no one was in. He had to stake out the house to find out who lived there and if any females among them used magic. Resignedly, Vincent adjusted his sunglasses with one hand, while he tilted his dark umbrella slightly so he could study the neighborhood he was in.

Nightwalkers were aptly named; they would shrivel up and die in prolonged exposure to strong sunlight. The fire in the sky drained their powers. Vincent had to wear sunglasses and carry his trusty dark umbrella if he left his home in the daytime. Although he had both with him now, he would rather have some proper shelter if he had to wait outside for a long time.

There was a small park diagonal to the Ryuuzaki house, Vincent made his way there and found a strategically placed tree which could block out the sun and provide him with concealment as well as an unobstructed view of the Ryuuzakis' door. The late afternoon sun didn't burn his eyes as bad as it did at noon, Vincent put down the umbrella and let his arms rest for a bit.

He was idly spinning his umbrella's handle like a top when he caught sight of a very pretty girl coming down the street. She looked younger than him, had long flowing honey-brown locks that shone in the fading sunlight, and she walked with an unconscious swing in her hips that he found very appealing. And her eyes, even from this distance, he could see the big pretty eyes. He wondered if the color of her eyes matched her beautiful hair; he would need to get closer to find out.

Vincent made to approach the lovely vision before she got away, but a tall boy who was walking beside her pulled him up short. He was too busy studying the girl to notice earlier, but he quickly assessed the boy. Boyfriend? Nah, they weren't behaving intimately, in fact they weren't even talking to each other. Maybe he was just a passerby who happened to be walking right next to her. No, wait. They had stopped together outside a door. Now they were saying goodbye, and then the boy left rather quickly, as though anxious to be elsewhere.

Ah haha! The tall one was definitely not her boyfriend, more like a friend who was a boy. Well, just watch! Vincent would have her in his arms before the week was up. He had always been popular with the ladies, especially since he made it a point to see them only after sunset, when he didn't have to cover his eyes. He knew precisely what girls liked in him, and what they kept coming back for. His abilities as a Nightwalker meant that he could always give them an experience they would never forget.

Vincent was congratulating himself on finding such a prize in secluded Tokyo suburbs when he finally realized that the girl went into the Ryuuzaki house he was watching. Oh well, all the more reason to spend more time on her then, he thought gleefully.


	5. C5

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

It was late by the time Ryoma had walked her to her door, Sumire would be back soon which meant that there wasn't time for any practice today. Sighing, Sakuno started dinner then went to shower.

There were so many things she wanted to do with her magic, many old spells she wanted to try, and new spells she wanted to invent. She would have liked having more time to herself so she could work on them. But she also wanted to stay for tennis practice, when she could watch Ryoma play and walk home with him after. The two of them really didn't spend much time together otherwise.

After all these years, she still enjoyed watching Ryoma play, although she had traded her own interest in tennis for magic. Ryoma was still exceptionally talented for his age, and it simply amazed her that someone the same age as her could do so much and be so much. Before the craft took up all her spare time, she had wanted to try for his level of accomplishment in tennis herself. Not just because tennis would help her understand Ryoma better, but also because she truly wanted to be remarkable in some way. Now, with the responsibility to practice her craft, she didn't have time to train in tennis, but she still enjoyed watching her prince live the life she could only dream of.

She stepped out of the shower, hands busily drying her hair with a fluffy towel, and glanced at the clock in the hallway. There was only just enough time for dinner to be ready before Sumire got home, which was a good thing since her grandmother still wasn't used to seeing the kitchen so busy all on its own.

Sakuno trudged to her room and started to set out her homework for the day. At a glance, her room was not much different from an ordinary schoolgirl's. Her tidy desk was set under the window overlooking the street in front of the house; her bed was set against the wall perpendicular to the desk. Her bookshelf held mostly schoolbooks and small ornaments, on display through the sliding glass doors on all but the bottommost shelf; her wardrobe was packed with white or pastel colored skirts and dresses, not a trace of black at all. There was a particular white long dress with full sleeves, a hood and hemmed with gold thread. It was made of some thick and silky-smooth material and was actually her ceremonial attire, a gift from Hanako who put a lot of stock in the traditional dress codes. Hanako's clothes came in earth tones only, in honor of her being a Green witch.

In case her friends suddenly pop by her place and inadvertently discovered her secrets, Sakuno always put all her magic related books and papers neatly away in a drawer under her bed. The bottom doors in her bookshelf hid the glassware for making potions, and assorted bottles of the harder to come by ingredients, all presents from Mayu.

As she stood before her desk, rummaging in her schoolbag, she had the oddest feeling of being watched. It was a tingling sensation that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. A little unnerved, Sakuno whipped around to face her door. No one was there though, not even her grandmother.

Still feeling unsettled, Sakuno sat down at the desk and concentrated on the spells she had cast on the house the day she got back from Osaka. Mayu had the same spells cast on her home, and Sakuno thought it would be prudent of her to do the same. The Ryuuzaki residences were protected by Sanctuary, which would alert Sakuno if anyone besides acknowledged friends and family were inside the house, as well as Magic Circle, which served to hold her magic inside her house and other people's outside of it. They were the burglar alarm and the firewall, Ryuuzaki version. Both spells were intact, which probably meant that Sakuno was being paranoid.

Sakuno opened her eyes with a sigh. Her stress levels were probably at an all-time high. There were the relationship problems with Ryoma and with her starting out on her magic career independently, not forgetting the story related by her excited Aunt Mayu. Sakuno would need to take a break for herself sometime soon; otherwise she wouldn't be able to continue handling everything with a calm mind. She wouldn't want to lose her control and unintentionally strike out at Ryoma or her grandmother, not knowing how much damage she would inflict.

Thankfully, the following week was the golden week, and Sumire was going on a long trip with the Seigaku Junior Tennis Team. Sakuno was looking at a whole week on her own. In eager anticipation, she had already planned her training schedule and had decided she would be spending half her time on getting used to older spells and the other half on inventing new spells of her own.

All the older spells were passed down from generation to generation, but occasionally, a more adventurous witch would jot down a new spell in the Clan records. With the advance of time, and the diminishing numbers of magic users, a lot of old-time spells were made obsolete.

Modern witches like the Ryuuzakis made their way in the world by conforming to the new rules and customs; applying their forte in the magic field to the work that would bring bread to the table. Mayu for example practically reinvented her magic to fit into her way of life. She had made inventing new spells into an art, although the Red witch had a strict rule about leaving the magic at the door on her way out.

Sakuno had yet to uncover the field of her calling, but she held hope that it would be a fruitful profession that was beneficial to others. She was a white magic user, which meant she could command all the elements. That simply meant that she would have more problems determining which was her forte, and hence greater dilemma deciding the profession she would undertake. Until she discovered that, she would work on any spells that came her way, and practice and practice to achieve perfection.

Two more days of school, then she had one long week on her own, and the house all to herself. She could let go of her restraints, her inhibitions, and simply glory in her ability to use magic.


	6. C6

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

_She couldn't move. It felt like there was something very heavy right on top of her. She tried to move her arms, her legs, and all she got was a feeling of frustration when her limbs chose to remain as they were._

_There was no pain, no actually discomfort other than the fact that she couldn't move. If she weren't breathing, she would have wondered if she had passed on to the afterlife. _

_She wasn't dead, but she couldn't make up her mind if she was awake or sleeping. All was completely dark, she wasn't sure if her eyes were open or shut. _

_She was worried. It all felt wrong somehow. Perhaps the heavy feeling on her chest would pass soon, and then she could move her limbs a little just to make sure they were still there…_

_She felt it while she was concentrating on her limbs, a feather light movement along her forearm. The sensation was effectively magnified since she couldn't actually feel anything else._

_Her shallow breathing caught. Her heart started to pound. What was that? She tried to move that arm but couldn't, it felt as though her muscles had gone to sleep but her nerve ends were working overtime._

_The movement on her arm stopped. She was slightly relieved but couldn't make herself relax yet. There was more to come, her intuition told her, more and perhaps worse._

_The next thing she felt was a gentle breath of air near her ear. She froze, more in spirit than in body, given the situation._

"_Ryuuzaki," the voice was low, deep-throated, and distinctively male. It was right beside her ear, but she couldn't see or feel anyone there otherwise. The disembodied voice continued, in a language she couldn't understand, but it kept saying the words in that low intimate way which was really giving her the creeps. _

_She wanted to ask it to go away, trying very hard to work her mouth and tongue to form the words. As she opened her mouth, she felt soft and warm lips being pushed against her own. _

_She was being kissed! By someone she couldn't see, couldn't push away, couldn't ask to go away even if the lips were removed from her own. Panic set in, and Sakuno doubled her efforts to move her own body._

_Anything would do! If she could have her arms, she could push the unseen being away. If she could open her throat, she could scream at it. If the heavy weight was taken off her torso, she could sit up and, hopefully, discover it was all a bad dream._

_This was too real. She had never been kissed, and she was sure she couldn't conjure the sensation of one out of her imagination. Someone was there, and that someone was taking liberties with her, but she couldn't stop him._

_Tears came, angry yet helpless streams flowing freely from her eyes. _

_Then as suddenly as she was made aware of it, the lips were gone; the weight on her chest was gone, accompanied by the low voice in a breathless tone saying her name, only her name. _

"_Ryuuzaki……"_

As soon as feeling flowed back into her limbs, Sakuno surged up to find herself in her bed. The door was still shut; the curtains at the window were drawn together just as she left them before going to bed. The digital clock on her desk told her it was almost two am.

Instinctively, she checked the protective spells she had thrown up around the house. Everything was still in place, which only told her that no one had physically came into her room to do things to her while she was sleeping. So she was dreaming, it must have been the pressure she was under these days, causing her imagination to overwork.

Her nerves still clamoring from the strange dream, she drew her knees close and stayed that way for the rest of the night. She was afraid of falling asleep; the memories from that dream were just too real for her comfort.

* * *

She looked rather pale today, dark circles underlining her gold-speckled eyes. She looked deprived of sleep. Ryoma was concerned. He briefly wondered what made her stay up last night, but realized he had no way of finding out unless he asked, which he wasn't about to do.

It was Thursday, only another day of school before the golden week of recess. There won't be any tennis practice for a week, at least not with the school, but Ryoma would most probably be playing with his Oyaji or simply practicing on his own the whole time.

The junior team was going to a retreat in the mountains, taking a well-deserved break at a time when there were no tournaments to participate in. The Obaasan came over to the senior team and invited all ex-Seigaku junior players to join in the one-week long leisure trip. His senpai-tachi were going, but Ryoma decided to stay home for the recess.

It took a lot of effort on his part to ignore his senpai-tachi, especially Momoshiro and Kikumaru, while they tried to peer-pressure him into going. In the end, he tried to fob them off with a vague reply. Inui of the shiny glasses had intoned that the probability of Ryoma going on such a social outing was lower than 20 per cent, which only made Kikumaru redouble his efforts to "sell" mountain resorts to his favorite freshman.

Sure, tennis teams would play tennis wherever they went, even on leisure trips, but there would also be all those bonding games and all the intricacies of communal living to deal with. In comparison, Ryoma would probably be using his racket more if he stayed at home. And that was what he thought to himself as he continued to suffer Kikumaru's sales pitch in silence.

The Obaasan didn't mind who went and who didn't, since it was only an unofficial social get-together. She herself would be accompanying her team to the mountains, leaving in the evening on Friday, and only coming back 8 days later. Ryoma was worried that she would leave Sakuno alone at home for so long, then caught himself thinking of the twelve-year old Sakuno instead of the fifteen year old one. Since she was almost grown-up, she shouldn't have problems being on her own for a few days, Ryoma thought to reassure himself.

But now, looking at her struggling to stay awake in class, he started to have second thoughts about her taking care of herself for the coming week. Just as a safety measure, he made up his mind to drop by her house now and then to check that she was still alive and well. She wouldn't know he was there if he was careful.

* * *

Friday morning came, and to him, she looked even worse than the day before. Practice that day was cancelled since most of the team had to go home and prepare for the mountain trip, so Ryoma decided to walk her home right after school, and make sure she got home alright and get some rest as soon as possible.

* * *

A/N: Hello mina san! since i am very very new at writing, i sometimes have questions that bug me ... if mina san can help me out here : is it better to write in dialogues? i think it is more interesting that way, but i always find myself writing in narrative before i noticed, then i will have problems replacing all the descriptions with converstions ... sigh 


	7. C7

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

She had the dream again last night. It was the same feeling of helplessness she remembered clearly from night before. But this time, when she was kissed against her will, she distinctly felt his tongue exploring inside her mouth. She wanted to gag, but was again prevented from doing anything at all until she was released from the paralysis. 

This time round she was sure it wasn't just a dream. With the experience of the previous night, she had retained the presence of mind to try using her magic to defend herself. It was a total failure; the sensations were taking place in a different dimension that her Protection spell couldn't reach. She had upped the intensity of the spell to no avail, only making herself tired in the effort.

When she woke up last night, she couldn't go back to sleep again. Instead, she pored over her notebooks for spells that could affect the dream dimensions, because she was sure that was precisely what was happening to her: she was being molested nightly in the realm of dreams.

She didn't tell her grandmother about the disturbing events; in fact, she did her best to be cheerful as usual. Sakuno figured her grandmother couldn't really help her anyway, since this was magic related trouble. The mountain retreat was good for Sumire,she deserved to go on a vacation without being weighed down by things she didn't understand. Sakuno would see her off for the trip cheerfully, then, knowing her own limits, she promised herself that she would contact Setsuko if things got out of hand. If there was anyone who could understand the human mind, it was Setsuko, the Yellow witch who worked as a psychoanalyst.

First things first though, she had to try to solve the mystery on her own, on her honour and duty as a Ryuuzaki witch.

Thank goodness it was Friday already, and soon the bell would ring to signal the freedom of the entire school population. As expected, a loud cheer came up to mark the beginning of the golden week. Amidst the happy noises emitted by her classmates, Sakuno felt Ryoma come up to her desk.

"Going home now?" he asked quietly.

"Hai, I want to be home in time to send Obaa-chan off for the trip." Sakuno smiled up at him, glad that he was finally talking to her after so long.

" Ja, issho de" (lit. then, lets go together)

"There is no practice today?" Her heart soaring, Sakuno quickly put her things into her schoolbag as she got up to leave. She knew Ryoma wasn't going for the trip, since Sumire had mentioned it in passing.

"Aa. The Obaasan is taking senpai-tachi to the mountains, there's no one left at practice."

"Souka. Ja, let's go," She reached for the strap of her schoolbag, but Ryoma beat her to it.

"I'll take that," Ryoma said off-handedly, then added with a customary smirk, "You just concentrate on staying upright until you get home."

He had seen how she was wavering on the spot. He suspected if she didn't have her desk to lean on, she would be flat on her face already. Yes, he was concerned, but she didn't need to know that.

"Arigatou." Sakuno said simply. She was truly grateful for his assistance. Two days of sleep deprivation was not doing her health any good. She was looking forward to a long rest as soon as she saw Sumire off on this trip. Until then, she had to leave some energy to smile and look all right for her grandmother.

They walked slower than usual, while the streams of students flowed past them, all eager to start on their holidays. It was different being surrounded by people. Usually after tennis practice, these streets would be empty and they would be alone all the way home.

Strangely, Sakuno felt closer to Ryoma among the crowds of people chattering all around them than when they were alone. The thought warmed her heart and gave her the energy to continue walking.

Ryoma had made himself walk very slowly in deference to Sakuno's condition, but as slow as they were walking, they still managed to get to her door almost too soon. Sumire was busy doing last minute things for the trip since she had to leave within the hour. The elder woman welcomed them back, and asked Ryoma into the house. He wasn't given the chance to refuse the invitation.

After he uttered the customary "Ojamashimasu", Ryoma stood for a while not knowing what to do next. He was still holding Sakuno's bag, so rather than let Sakuno maneuver the stairs while carrying her heavy schoolbag, he opted to walk her to her room instead. She looked like she could easily slip on the stairs and kill herself although she had greeted her grandmother with a bright smile and warm words. Sakuno thanked him again quietly.

Once her grandmother wasn't looking, she wilted like a flower. He couldn't bear watching any longer and took hold of her elbow to help her up the stairs. She looked at him and smiled appreciatively for a moment before turning her eyes back to the familiar stairs. She was too tired to think beyond her next footfall.

Ryoma couldn't decide to be angry at her for pretending to be fine in front of her grandmother when she really wasn't, or to be pleased that she trusted him enough to let him see precisely how weak she was feeling and to accept his assistance.

They reached her room with no mishaps and he left her to change and freshen up while he waited in the corridor. Sumire came up stairs at the moment and quietly waved at him to go over to her. The elder Ryuuzaki led him to the living room downstairs before speaking in low tones so Sakuno wouldn't overhear.

"Ryoma, I meant to call by your house later, so it is good to see you here. I have a favor to ask," she continued when Ryoma gave her a questioning look, "I will be away until next Saturday and Sakuno would be alone for that time. You can see for yourself how bad she looks, she started losing sleep a couple of days ago."

"Dou-" Ryoma started to ask, but was cut short by his ex-coach.

"I don't know what is going on with her. I would stay home, but she insisted that I take a break in the mountains. I ask that you check on her now and then while I am away. This is the contact number of my niece, Ryuuzaki Mayu" she passed him a slip of paper with a string of numbers," call her if Sakuno needs help, she would know what to do."

"Hn," Ryoma made an agreeable sound and quickly kept the paper. He just heard the faraway sound of a door opening. Sakuno would be coming down the stairs soon and he wanted to make sure she didn't slip on the way down either.

Seeing him about to turn away, Sumire stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Wait," she withdrew a bunch of keys from her pocket and pressed them into his hand, speaking quickly, "I trust you not to misuse these, keep them until I get back. And sometimes, Sakuno might get very cold, so-"

His golden eyes widened. "Ha-Hai, sensei. I won't abuse your trust," he replied seriously, one hand tucking the keys in together with the slip of paper, then hurried to the stairs.

Sumire watched his retreating back with some relief. As long as Ryoma had promised to look after Sakuno, she could rest her mind that her granddaughter would still be alive when she got back. Turning away from the teenagers, she strode to the entryway where her bags were waiting.

Trying not to be obvious about leaning against the entryway for support, Sakuno said her goodbyes to her grandmother with a cheerful smile. There was a cab waiting already, and Ryoma put Sumire's bags in the boot while the Ryuuzakis reminded each other to take good care of herself.

Soon, the cab pulled away, and Sakuno's hand dropped to her side when she lost sight of the retreating vehicle.

"She's gone. Go back in," Ryoma spoke up, watching her wan face.

"Un. Let me get a drink for you, you are a guest after all."

"I'm fine. You're not." He said shortly. Ignoring her protests, he caught her elbow and dragged her into the living room then pushed her down gently but firmly into the sofa. Sakuno looked back at the open door that Ryoma had apparently forgotten about and mentally asked it to close.

He stood looking down at the top of her head, and thought that even her long hair looked tired and lifeless. Ryoma wondered what else he could do to make her more comfortable.

"You need water," he announced as the obvious struck him, and headed purposefully for the kitchen in the back of the house.

Sakuno wanted to tell him no, but he was gone by the time she looked up. Sigh, what kind of hostess was she, making the guest fetch water for her instead of vice versa. Head heavy from the sleepless nights, her body slipped sideways onto the sofa until she was lying down. She was really feeling very tired, maybe just a short nap on the sofa ……

It took him maybe two minutes to fetch the water, mostly because he wasn't familiar with the arrangement in her kitchen. On his return, he found she had curled up on the sofa and was sleeping peacefully.

He put down the glass quietly and wandered back upstairs, coming back to her with a light blanket in his arms a while later. Once he covered her up, mostly for his own peace of mind, he sat back in an adjacent armchair and wondered what to do until she woke up.


	8. C8

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

Vincent had started his personal campaign for the Ryuuzaki girl two nights ago. He came back to her house at night, when the sun was gone and he could feel his power surging in his veins. He had entered her dreams the last two nights, showing her what he wanted to do with her while he trapped her subconscious in the astral plane that only Nightwalkers could control.

He wasn't foolish enough to sneak into her house physically, it was too soon for that, but the dream realm was a dimension that he was familiar with, and a good way to introduce himself. For the last two nights, he had given her a taste of being with him, as he whispered tender words in her dreams. He couldn't see her response while in that dimension, but he was sure his romantic ways were making her mind weak with lust and her body frantic for him. Vincent thought that was one of the reasons he was so popular with the girls; he was good in the sack, both mind and body. Not to mention he was the richest kid in the class and a titled aristocrat to boot, Le Vicomte du Cruc, heir to a rather large patch of ground in Normandy, France.

He was back again today, standing under the same tree in the park near her house. The living room lights were on, so perhaps she wasn't sleeping yet. Vincent cast his mind experimentally, searching the dark realm for a bright spot of light that was Ryuuzaki's subconscious.

Surprise, surprise; she was sleeping after all. The girl must be so eager to meet him. He directed his power towards her, whispering her name in her dreams. He imagined himself kissing her senseless, and directed all the sensations into her dreams. Then he was thinking about stroking her body, not to gratify yet, just to arouse. Some time later, he decided to leave her in this unsatisfied state and let her go.

He thought it would be fun to drop by again later, to surprise her. But for now, he would go enjoy himself at a foreigners' club he had discovered earlier that day. Who knew? Maybe he would get lucky later and poor Ryuuzaki would have to be alone in bed that night.

* * *

Sakuno came around in severe shock, her chest heaving for oxygen. She had been trying to cast the Mind Seal spell ever since she felt the restriction on her chest. It was the only solution she could find, sealing up her own mind so the molester couldn't mess with it. But she didn't count on her being so terrified in the dream that she couldn't even remember the words of the complex spell properly; much less cast it.

She was cold again, from trying so hard to use the spell. It dawned on her that she wasn't in her own bed, and she wasn't alone. As feeling seeped back into her freezing body, she realized she was caught in a soft, warm cage.

_Ryoma._

He was holding her closely, rubbing her hands between his own comfortingly while calling her name. Sakuno took a while to gain her bearings then struggled to get words past her dry throat.

Ryoma had fallen asleep as well after taking care of Sakuno, and woke up about an hour later when his empty stomach sounded the bell. He checked to make sure Sakuno was still resting then went into the kitchen to find food. There was some instant ramen that he decided to cook when she woke up. Not knowing when she would do that, he munched on some bananas in the meantime.

Then he went back to the living room and started on his homework while Sakuno slept on. About half an hour later, a strange sound from her made him look up.

To his alarm, Sakuno had tears streaming from her closed eyes; she looked like she was crying in her sleep, giving off broken sobs as though she was crying too hard to breathe. Ryoma tried to wake her up, but found her body felt cold and stiff. Almost in a panic, he pulled her upright and wrapped himself around her, his chest cushioning her back, anxiously calling her to wake up. He had been holding her for maybe fifteen minutes when he felt her body suddenly relax, melting against him in a cold puddle.

Looking down, he noted her eyes were open; shock and distress were obvious in the gold speckled orbs. Her lips were moving silently, as though she wanted to speak but couldn't get the words out. Moving quickly, he held the glass of water to her lips and supported her back while he watched her first sip slowly then take bigger gulps until she had to break off coughing.

Setting the glass aside, he petted her back gently with one hand while holding onto her cold hands with the other.

The moment past, then Sakuno started crying again in great wrenching sobs, clinging to Ryoma for dear life. He hated to see her like that, but all he could do was continue holding her and be worried for her. Gradually, she calmed down somewhat, and feeling less cold, tried to move away from him.

Tightening his hold on her, he asked in a low voice, "What was that about?"

Prevented from moving away, Sakuno settled back against his chest while she tried to collect her scrambled thoughts. Foremost in her mind was that it helped to have someone there with her when she woke up from the horrible violating dreams. The fear that stayed with her even after waking up was ebbing.

She couldn't lie to Ryoma, but she couldn't tell him the truth either. The words wouldn't even come to her mind, how could she tell him she was getting molested in her dreams night after night? "Bad dream," she muttered finally. Yes, a very disturbing, very real bad dream.

"Tell me." He wasn't satisfied with the simple answer, there should be more to the episode than a silly nightmare.

Shaking her head, Sakuno made a greater effort to get away from him. No, she couldn't. She didn't want to think about it anymore.

Her obvious distress made Ryoma relent, for the time being. Mirroring her movements, he unfolded himself from the sofa. "Go shower. I will be here."

She nodded acquiescence, and slowly made her way to the bathroom upstairs. He waited until he was sure she got to the bathroom alright, and then spun towards the phone near the entryway. The call home was swiftly dealt with. His cousin complained about not receiving earlier notice, she had already made his share for dinner, but wasn't overly concerned when he said he was staying over with a friend that night.

That done, Ryoma went to see to Sakuno's dinner.


	9. C9

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

Sakuno stood still under the warm shower for a while then abruptly snapped into action. Picking up her favorite scented shower foam, she scrubbed and scrubbed all over herself until her tender skin glowed an angry red.

But she still felt soiled. The dream was worse again than the day before, she remember invisible hands running up and down her body while the disembodied voice whispered her name and made her cringe. And the lips, and the tongue ……

Turning off the shower, she rushed to the washbasin and grabbed the mouthwash. That bottle of green liquid had been diminishing at an alarming rate since two days ago. But she had gotten no further in solving her problem.

Shoulders slumped in defeat, she slowly dried herself off and wrapped up in the plain cotton yukata lit. bathrobe hanging behind the door. She meant to go across the landing to her room and get her undies and pyjamas, but when she opened the bathroom door, she found Ryoma waiting in the corridor.

She was taking rather long, and there hadn't been any sound coming from the bathroom since he came up to look for her. He was worried she had fainted or something and had just made up his mind to kick in the bathroom door when she finally reappeared.

Vastly relieved, he immediately herded her downstairs, fully intent on getting some food into her. When they were seated at the kitchen table, he made sure she was eating before starting on his own food.

"I will be using the guestroom tonight. Find me a clean towel, and something to change into." Ryoma exercised the authority of an assertive voice, a technique he picked up from his favorite Buchou. Inwardly, he prayed she wouldn't object violently to him staying the night, because no way was he leaving her alone when she was looking like that.

Sakuno merely nodded docilely. She didn't mind what he did as long as he didn't try to question her about the dream again, and she would rather have someone in the house with her than not.

They moved upstairs after cleaning up in the kitchen, Ryoma switched off the downstairs lights and checked the door and windows were secured before going up. Sakuno had brought out towels and the heavy blue kimono they kept for unexpected guests. She then retreated to her room and dressed properly while Ryoma went to shower.

When she was done, she left her bedroom door open and settled down at her desk. She was flipping through her schoolbooks dejectedly, wondering how much practice she would need to be able to command the Mind Seal spell when she was trapped in the dream, when he knocked gently and asked to come in.

"Douzo." Turning, Sakuno fought the urge to hide even as he walked in and settled down on the edge of her bed, the cat-like eyes spearing her like she would soon be fresh meat. She had a good idea what he wanted to see her about.

"Ready to tell me yet?" Ah, just as she suspected. And, no, she still didn't want to tell him about it. She started shaking her head, but stopped when Ryoma gave an exasperated sigh.

"Sakuno, I can't help you if I don't know what is going on," he complained.

"Gomen, for making you worried. I don't really know what is going on either, so I can't tell you much," _Too bad I am bound by oath not to lie, I would rather you never found out about the demeaning dreams, _Sakuno thought to herself.

Swallowing his sudden impatience, he glanced at the clock on her desk. It was not yet nine, rather early to go to bed, especially since both of them had taken naps earlier on. Although he couldn't say how restful Sakuno's nap was. Glancing at her opened books, he figured she was getting ready to do some homework.

"Fine, but I will find out sooner or later," he tried to sound stern, as if he was reprimanding a kouhai as a Buchou. Then he suddenly changed the topic, "Doing homework?"

She looked at him helplessly for a moment then turned back to her books, "Un, the English assignment looks difficult. I wanted to get an early start on it."

Sakuno's English was still miserably poor, he knew. With an inner sigh, he stood up and said, "_Matte_, I'll fetch mine and we can work on it together."

She looked up and gave him a brilliant smile, nodding happily at his offer. They spent the next two hours going through the paper, Sakuno seated at her desk while Ryoma sprawled on the bed, which was his usual position for doing homework.

At eleven, Ryoma caught Sakuno stifling a yawn and decided to end their study session. He gathered his books and ordered her to go to sleep, before he trudged back to the guestroom and settled in for the night.

Although a little apprehensive about falling into dreams again, Sakuno obeyed. Turning out the light, she laid down, wrapped in the comfortable warmth Ryoma left on her sheets. She fell asleep quickly, the exhaustion of the last two days catching up with her.


	10. C10

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

Ryoma had more trouble sleeping than Sakuno. Damn teenage hormones. Lying in the dark with his eyes wide open, he sorely missed the companionship of Karupin. He tossed and turned on the unfamiliar bed, trying to find a spot that suited him. After a while, he tried to count tennis balls, imagining two invisible players volleying a green sphere to and fro, while he was looking down the net and keeping count of the number of times the ball crossed it.

Still unable to sleep, he started to entertain himself by imagining all the different special moves he had seen before, and kept on counting as the ball whizzed past the net again and again. He ran out of interesting moves soon enough and somehow ended up imagining a spherical Horio being whacked across a court, making strange squeaky noises every time he bounced off the ground or connected with a racket. Both the rackets hitting Horio were red, just like the ones Ryoma habitually used. The thought brought a smirk to his face.

Two hours later, he was still as wide-awake. Sitting up resignedly, he decided to get some water from the kitchen. He quietly opened his door and made to tiptoe past Sakuno's room. He heard a sound from her room that brought him up short, it sounded like she was crying again, except the broken sobs were louder in the silence of night.

Worried, he barged into her room without further thought. In the moonlight peeking in through the windows, he could see that her face was wet, and she looked like she was in pain.

_Damn, not again!_ Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ryoma quickly felt her face to check her temperature, and as he expected, she was frozen up again, this time worse than before. He flipped aside her comforter and felt her hands; they were cold and lifeless too. His priority was to make her warmer, it couldn't be good for her to be so unnaturally cold, and he knew but one quick way to go about it.

There was no time to think, no time to panic; he needed to make sure she would stay alive. He picked her up, cradling her in his arms while he navigated his way to the bathroom, taking extra care in the darkness of the corridor. There was enough moonlight to locate the bathtub and place her prone body gently into it, making sure her neck was leaning against the side. Then he turned on the hot water tap at full blast.

He made use of the time lapse to switch on the small nightlight beside the washbasin, filling the small room in an eerie blue glow. Then there wasn't much else to do but wait. Ryoma kept an eye on the water level, and turned off the tap when the tub was almost full, submerging Sakuno from the neck down.

He squatted down beside the tub studying her. She had stopped crying at least, the tears were drying on her pale cheeks. Gently, he pushed her long hair away from her face, and felt how cold her cheeks were. Looking around, he grabbed a small towel and, after dipping it in the hot water, gently wiped her face. In the absence of the noise of falling water, he filled the silence by talking to her.

"C'mon Sakuno, wake up. You are making me worried. Obaasan asked me to take care of you for this whole week, and within a few hours you been like this twice! How am I going to answer to the old woman when she returns? Wake up, Sakuno, come back to me, ne?"

She looked so pale, so still, but for the shallow breathing, he would have thought she was lost to him. Reaching for her hand in the hot water, he was slightly comforted when he felt the weak pulse. Taking her hand between his larger ones, he brought it to his cheek, seeking to assure himself she was still alive. His heart wrenched painfully at the sight of her pale face, her lips looked an unearthly blue in the strange lighting.

"Come back, I am waiting. Open your eyes, Sakuno. I haven't told you how much I like seeing them. I like your smile too, and your long hair. I remember how you used to wear braids everyday. Although you look prettier when you don't tie it up." He spilt his guts to the unconscious girl.

There was no sign that she could hear him, no sign that she was waking up. "Please, love, look at me." _Yes, love, come back to me now and I swear I will never ignore you again. Never let you go again. _"Sakuno …" he was begging her.

It hurt; hurt so very much to see her like that and him helpless to do anything. "Wake up, please ……"


	11. C11

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

_It was different again this time, there was savagery in the way her lips were rubbed against and the way the hands were hurting her more than just touching._

_She couldn't stop herself from struggling, couldn't stop herself from experiencing the helplessness again. She was sobbing, the horror of being molested by a stranger clenched ice-cold in her belly._

_She felt her lips being crushed against her teeth, and she hurt. Struggling to keep her mouth closed in case the tongue invaded her mouth again, but crying very hard at the same time, Sakuno was having trouble breathing._

_The hands descended on her, moving all over her. She felt a pressure on her breast, and then had to clench her teeth to keep from screaming when she was pinched very hard._

_Contradictorily, the pain took fear out of her. Sakuno had felt shame and confusion that a stranger was touching her in her dreams; now she was brought beyond the self-directed emotions. Now, she felt angry, where was justice? _

_Who was barging in on her dreams and demeaning her nightly? She had no way of knowing. She couldn't even feel any aura indicating a human presence behind the sensations. _

_If not human, then what? Another magic user? Did he not take the oath by his blood not to abuse his power? Sakuno herself had gone through a lengthy ritual in which she swore to the spirits of her ancestors that she would never intentionally use her power to hurt innocent people. Didn't all magic users have to undertake such an oath? If he were a renegade, she would be doing the world a favor to neutralize him. _

_But why was she so helpless against him? She was Ryuuzaki Sakuno, a witch by her blood, and the strongest witch among those she knew. The anger burned low but steady, overpowering the instinct to curl up and cry._

_She didn't deserve the harassment; she didn't do anything to justify this. She had to find a way to end it!_

_In a desperate pitch for control, Sakuno focused all the power at her command, and let loose a blinding white light, hoping it would stun her assailant no matter which magical dimension he was in. The effort was making her cold rapidly, but a painful keening that reached her ears rewarded her. _

_Good, she hoped he was in great pain. The weight on her chest lifted, she felt a tingling as her own limbs begun to come back to life. Grabbing the opportunity, she mentally recited the Mind Seal, bending her mind into herself so he was barred outside and could no longer control her subconscious. _

_As the last word of the spell was uttered, she felt her astral spirit being jerked strongly downwards. Although now in deep swirling darkness, she knew she was back in her own body. The disembodied voice didn't continue, the violating hands touching her were no more._

She stayed like that for a long time, floating in silent, aimless darkness, until she heard Ryoma calling her. His voice sounded very far away, but she could make out the words when she concentrated.

Her spirit leaned towards his voice like a flower towards the sun. Ryoma's voice was calling her to come home.

_Sakuno… come back … open your eyes … Please, love, look at me._

Her heart soared at his words. He loved her. He loved her. Ryoma loved her.

Elated, she struggled through the thick darkness, moving towards his voice. She tried to open her eyes, so she could see the expression on his face when he called her "love".

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get any closer to his voice. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't open her eyes. To her dismay, she just discovered the Mind Seal had a severe flaw: she appeared to have trapped herself in her own body ……

* * *

Less than half an hour later, the bath was turning cold. Feeling her temperature was rather back to normal, Ryoma decided to just get her out of the tub and back to bed. Her color was coming back, and she looked like she was sleeping peacefully, which eased his worries.

After letting out the cooling water, he faced a problem: Sakuno would have to get out of the wet clothes first.

_OK, so just take them off her, shouldn't be a big problem, you know, just slip the pajamas/dress thing over her head and it would come off._

_Ah ……I don't think that's the crux of the problem ……_

_Well, she can't go to bed in those wet clothes, can she?_

_Yes, well …… what happens after you take them off?_

_Erm. Uh-Huh. Well. But still, it's only practical!_

_Okay, maybe you can promise not to look._

_I am not a pervert like Oyaji! I ……think._

_Fine, so go ahead and strip her._

_OK, I will, AND I won't look. If she stays like that any longer, she will just get cold again._

_Mada mada da ne, Echizen._

He struggled to get the sticky wet material away from her, and discovered she was like a thoughtfully wrapped present: there was _another _layer under the pajamas.

_Might as well go the distance_, he thought grimly. He hoisted her up and made short work of the wet lace undies, then quickly wrapped her in the dry fluffy towel on hand.

She was blushing in her subconscious, unable to either protest or help him. Even if she could move, she wasn't sure if she would stop him or aid him. The knowledge of that made her blush fiercer.

She recalled the past few weeks, when he had practically ignored her after they spent the night trapped in the storeroom. And now he was going to so much trouble to take care of her.

Before this night, she was almost convinced that he wasn't meant for her after all. She realized that she didn't trust him, or herself, enough; she should have put more faith in the vision shown to her in her premonition dream. Ryoma cared for her, loved her even, and that was all she needed to know.

He brought her back to her bed, and carefully tucked her under the comforter, sans now wet towel. Her hair was wet as well, he spread it out behind her head to dry, and found that she looked just like a sleeping angel in the moonlight. Now he just hoped she would wake up soon.

Ryoma went back to clean up as best as he could in the bathroom, and flicked off the blue light on his way back to Sakuno's side. He sat on the floor beside the bed and watched her grumpily. He had done more housework tonight than in the past fifteen years, he told her sleeping form, and she had better appreciate his efforts.

He was worn out from the unaccustomed work, and from carrying her to and fro. Yawning, his head dropped onto the mattress and he went deep under.

Sakuno heard his complaint and smiled in her mind, she would remember to thank him properly when the spell wore off and she could wake up. There was nothing to do but wait, since there wasn't a counter spell to release her from the Mind Seal.

She would have to add a little notation to her notebook; she could either modify the spell so she could release herself from it at will or make sure she never ever used it again. She would have to find another way to stop the molester, who knew when he would be back again. The white flash worked, so perhaps she could focus her power into a beam so she would hurt him more. She would need to see if she could pinpoint a target next time.

The Mind Seal worked in its way, but she would rather not be stuck like that every time after the dream. Thankfully her life was not in danger and she was being taken care of by someone she trusted, heart and soul.

She floated in the restful infinity, feeling more energized as time past. Gradually, she was able to feel her limbs and finally opened her eyes.


	12. C12

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

A/N: Ok ... if you are below thirteen, this is the time to get Mom or Dad to sit with you while i do a very quickstudy of the birds and the bees ... Ready? Here we go ...

* * *

Sakuno came to, sought out the clock and saw that it was almost four in the morning. She pulled her arms out of the cocoon of her comforter and sat up in bed. Ryoma was sitting on the floor, arms sprawled on the bed and his eyes were closed in sleep. He didn't look very comfortable there, Sakuno thought, and reached over to shake him awake.

Ryoma opened his eyes blurrily. He saw Sakuno sitting up in bed and felt her tugging on his arm. Sleepily he followed the movement and climbed into bed beside her. Sakuno made space for him, watching him settled into the soft mattress chest down, arms curled around her pillow. He immediately fall asleep again, head on her pillow, face turned towards her.

Sakuno whispered a Thank you to him, and saw him give a small answering smile in his sleep. She lay down and closed her eyes, at peace now after the trauma of the past few days.

Sometime later, Ryoma woke up to a bright sunny day and the sound of birds chirping outside the window. He had his arms around and a leg thrown over a warm and soft object that was too big to be Karupin. Curious, he lifted his head slightly from the pillow and found he was hugging Sakuno.

_Sakuno ka,_ he thought and let his head fall back heavily onto the pillow. He didn't want to know how she got there, merely accepted that she had and that she felt good. She was awake and seemed to be playing with her fingers.

Sakuno felt the movement and tapped his top arm lightly, silently asking him to ease up a little. Ryoma flopped onto his back, and threw his free arm over his eyes, the first thing he remembered was that the girl he was holding in bed was wearing nothing under that comforter. Subsequently, he was getting a little problem below waist level, which he was hoping she wouldn't notice.

Sakuno turned to face him, "Ohayo. Thank you for last night. I have caused you a lot of trouble."

_Last night?_ He didn't really do anything to her, did he? There was a surge of panic before he recalled the distressing events that had taken place in the dark. Damn, it was just too early in the morning, the cobwebs in his mind were preventing logical thoughts and worse, he couldn't seem to prevent his body from pitching a tent under the blue kimono. He managed a strangled, "Aa." in the way of an answer, hoping she would keep quiet while he collected the pieces of himself back from never-never-land.

"Are you hungry yet, breakfast will be ready soon. Or you can have a shower first, your uniform has been washed and dried, you can put it on if you don't mind that it's a little crumpled …"

Would she always be this talkative in the morning? Ryoma sighed inwardly, just his luck to find someone the exact opposite of him, he never could put two words together right after waking up. If she wanted to talk, there were some things he would rather listen to than this inane chatter she was keeping up. "Out with it, I want the full story," he grunted, his eyes tightly closed in the effort of a losing contest with his own body.

He felt her withdrawing, even before his ears registered the fact that she had stopped her cheery morning speech. She was trying to get up, probably to escape from the interrogation. "No, you don't." Ryoma rolled back over her and pinned her down with his body. His cat-like eyes snapped open, suddenly alert, and burned into hers for a moment before the clouded look in her gold speckled orbs affected him. Sighing, he lowered his forehead to her shoulder region, "Twice in a night, this is serious matter, Sakuno. Tell me now, or I'll send you to the hospital and have them lock you into the ICU permanently."

"Will you visit me sometimes?" She asked softly, without a hint of repent in her voice.

"Sakuno! Don't push it!" He glared at her, trying to instill a healthy fear with the look. She turned her face away, neatly avoiding his threatening gaze.

Ryoma dropped his head again. It was too early for a confrontation, but he was angry, and hurt that she wouldn't share her troubles with him.

On top of that, his body was making demands that he was fighting a losing battle against. He didn't want this to happen yet; it was too soon for them. But she felt good against him, and he felt like he had come home.

Giving up, both to her and to himself, he focused all his frustrations on her exposed neck. Groaning, Ryoma dropped hot, wet kisses up the milky-white column. He felt her shudder when he flicked his tongue in her ear; the small movement made him burn, and he needed to give more, and take more. The fever was upon him, and it was difficult to think, so Ryoma stopped thinking at all.

Instinct took over; he sought her lips, explored her face, and worked his way down, pushing away the comforter as he went along. Sakuno was soft and pliant beneath his questing hands and lips.

This felt right, she felt warm and safe. It was as different as night and day from the dreams she had. She knew who was touching her, could feel his familiar aura enclosing her. It was Ryoma whom she knew and loved, not some unknown stranger who spoke in a foreign language. Ryoma apparently didn't talk much in bed, and she was thankful for that. Sakuno simply relaxed and basked in his ministrations, trusting him to take good care of her.

Ryoma couldn't have spoken even if he wanted to. Once he ditched the inner battle, he knew only that he would take her all the way to heaven and back again. Only one word filled his conscious, the rest of him was caught up in the burning urgency enveloping him.

_Mine_. He pulled the comforter lower and kissed his way between her breasts, taking time to lick the tips into tight buds. She moaned, drawing his attention to her mouth for long moments before he moved down again.

_Mine_. He blazed a trail down the center of her abdomen, dipping into the cute navel button again and again when he felt her shiver uncontrollably every time.

_Mine ……Mine …… Mine_ ……

The sounds she made were going straight to his groin. He felt her heartbeat quicken to beat in time with his own. He had completely pulled the comforter off, exposing her to the morning light. He paused, slipped out of the kimono while backtracking from her toes to her face with eyes narrowed in concentration. Her face was flushed; in fact, she was turning pink all over her body. She was panting now, as breathless as he was, her eyes were closed.

He ran his hands up along the insides of her thighs, felt her muscles quiver as her knees fell apart to make space for him. Shifting to lean over her, he kissed the corners of her mouth gently then covered her mouth and sought entry there.

Sakuno opened her eyes slightly when he came back to her, and slipped her arms around him. She found herself the recipient of his smoldering gaze. Their eyes held while he repeated the movement of his tongue with his body.

She gasped and made a small sound of distress. He felt his heart pinch as he caused her the pain, and made to stop, but she shook her head to indicate that it was alright, then pulled him back for another kiss.

After that, it was a smooth climb, higher and higher, as they moved together in a natural rhythm. She cried his name when she fell off the precipice, but all he could do was hold onto her tightly since he was also flying then falling. They slowly coasted back down, still wrapped into each other.

Not wanting her to take his weight, Ryoma summoned the energy to roll onto his back, taking her with him. Sakuno rested her cheek on his chest, still holding him deep inside her.

"You alright?" He was holding her close, and felt her nod silently, her chest still heaving from the experience.

They waited to catch their breaths; it was a long time before either of them stirred.

The logical side of his brain finally woke up properly after his body was effectively spent. Through the contented haze, Ryoma was busy thinking of the consequences of what they had just done.

_Plans, he needed plans_, he thought to himself. He gave a silent sigh; his life had just gotten more complicated. On reflection, he had known for some time that they would end up like this, he had simply avoided acting on it, since he thought he was too young to be thinking about such things. And now he would need to come up with neck-saving plans as quick as can be, before the Obaasan came back and decided to chop off his head for daring to touch her precious Mago.

The worse thing was, he had promised not to abuse her trust, so just how was he going to explain himself? It was too much to hope that the Obaasan would "trust" him to take Sakuno to bed.

And what did Sakuno think about the situation? She was keeping quiet, not a peep out of her since she cried his name towards the end. He could only hope she wasn't having second thoughts about being with him, because to Ryoma, he had just marked her as his own. He had accepted her in his mind as she had accepted him in body. The difference was, he didn't think he would ever be able to let go.

Sakuno was reflecting on how fast things were moving now when just a few days ago she was having doubt that Ryoma was meant for her. Her body felt boneless, like molten wax poured all over Ryoma. She was breathless, from the physical exertions as much as from the wonder of it all. Otherwise, her mind was a blank, a contented hazy blank.

The emptiness in Ryoma's stomach was called to his attention, and he decided everything else had to wait. Clearing his throat, he broke the silence that had fallen upon them, "Shower first, then breakfast, alright?"

She nodded against his chest, pushing away to get up. Ryoma immediately missed the physical contact, and nearly grabbed her again when he felt himself leaving her hot and wet center. He trailed after her to the bathroom, neither of them bothered with covering themselves since there was no one else in the house to see them anyway.

He helped soap her back, and she returned the favor shyly. He thought of all the interesting things they could be doing in the shower, or in the tub, and couldn't resist kissing her. His passion was rekindled when she kissed him back. But she didn't let him get much further than that, reminding him in a soft voice that they had to eat breakfast.

She was handling the situation even better than him, Ryoma thought in wonder.

They got out of the shower, and dried each other with soft towels, then wrapping the towels around themselves, went back to her room to find proper clothes to wear.

His uniform was clean and dry like she said, and sat neatly folded on her desk, although how he managed not to notice earlier was beyond his understanding. The keys and the slip of paper were in his pocket where he left them. He even found his underwear in the pile. Pulling the clothes on swiftly, he sneaked a glance at Sakuno, who was studying her wardrobe and debating what to put on for the day.

When did she find time to do his laundry? He was with her most of time ever since yesterday afternoon. They were in separate rooms for a while last night, before he found her crying again, but he was quite sure she was sleeping during that time. Did she recognize the keys? She might not have or she would have said something already.

Actually, Sakuno used magic to do the laundry just this morning, same time as she had made breakfast. She didn't see his clothes at all until they came back to her room after the morning shower. She didn't see the keys or Mayu's phone number written on the slip of paper.

_Details, details_, thought Ryoma. All the loose ends could wait until after he had food in him. Ryoma went to Sakuno, picked out a powder pink T-shirt dress and helped her into it while he complained about being famished. Sakuno merely smiled and led him downstairs.

Once they were downstairs, Ryoma followed his nose and was rather surprised to see breakfast ready and waiting in the kitchen. Sakuno had prepared a traditional breakfast, the fried fish were cold already, she apologized with a small flush, but the rice and soup were hot from their pots. Ryoma couldn't complain about that since he had a hand in delaying their breakfast. Once again amazed at her efficiency, he sat down and tucked into his favorite breakfast cuisine.

"Do you feel up to a walk? Just to my place and back, I want to get some fresh clothes and check on Karupin." He was reluctant to leave her even for an hour, and had taken for granted that he was staying with her as long as the Obaasan was away.

"_Un, iiwayo. Sono ato_, I have to go grocery shopping, there isn't much left in the refrigerator." There was no point in conjuring up food by magic. Illusions didn't fill stomachs.

"Home first, then to the supermarket on our way back," Ryoma decided for them. Sakuno conceded with a sweet smile, "Hai."


	13. C13

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

Only when they were on their way, that Ryoma remembered precisely what strange characters she would meet at his home. Ano baka Oyaji would probably tell her weird and embarrassing stories about his only son. Ryoma would just have to make sure Sakuno stayed close to him for as long as they were in his home, preferably they could go straight to his room and not meet anyone along the way.

He was lucky that morning; no one was near the entryway when he brought Sakuno home. He waited until they were halfway up the stairs before calling out that he was home, then quickly slipped into his room before anyone came out to welcome him.

If Sakuno thought it strange that he was trying to avoid his family members, she didn't voice it aloud. Ryoma found Karupin in his bed and started playing with the cat while checking that it was none the worse spending yesterday without him.

Karupin was his companion, but his cousin or his mother fed the cat for him. Ryoma could be certain that Karupin was not left to starve, but he still didn't like leaving his pet alone for too long.

"Ne, what if I brought Karupin to your house as well? Do you mind very much?" He looked up at Sakuno who was just getting acquainted with the cat.

"Hmm, we will have to buy cat food then, and get something for him to sleep in," Sakuno was already busy planning ahead to the preparations they had to make, completely skipping over the choice Ryoma had given her.

He smiled at her generosity, and leaned over to kiss her full on the mouth for making him happy. Just as their lips connected, his bedroom door slammed open. Annoyed, Ryoma turned to glare at the elder Echizen standing in the doorway.

"Oyaji, how many times must I tell you to KNOCK before entering?"

"Ah, the Seishounen brought a girl home! Hello, pretty lady, what is your name?" Nanjiroh ignored his son's outburst and proceed to charm the lovely girl he just caught kissing with his son.

"Konnichiwa. Ryuuzaki Sakuno desu." She was blushing prettily, embarrassed at the situation they were caught in.

"Ryuuzaki? _Masaka_ you are related to the Obaasan from Seigaku?"

"H-Hai … Ryuuzaki Sumire is my grandmother," Sakuno wondered when the two had met. She wondered how the Ojisan was related to Ryoma, but a glance at her prince told her that he wouldn't be making the introductions.

"_Shinjiranee na_, that fierce old woman has a granddaughter as pretty as you. The Seishounen has good taste, must have inherited it from his father," Nanjiroh chuckled. "Alright, it is decided! You will stay for lunch, I will go let the boy's mother know right now." So saying he left the room, broadcasting the 'Ryoma has brought a girl home, and she is staying for lunch' newsflash at the top of his voice.

"_Ano kata wa dare_?" Sakuno asked in a dazed voice. She had just been bulldozed over and couldn't quite put her finger on exactly when she had lost her end of the conversation.

"Someone you will take extreme care to avoid in future," Ryoma muttered as he got up and shut the door, making sure he locked it this time.

Sakuno turned uncomprehending eyes upon him. She felt the Ojisan was somewhat familiar; maybe she had met him before. She recalled his aura and suddenly realized why; someone else she knew had an aura similar to that. "Hmm, Ryoma-kun no Otousan wa omoshiroi ne." Her sweet smile widened when his expression told her she was right.

"Ano baka Oyaji? 'Omoshiroi' is too kind a word for him," Ryoma snorted in the direction of the door. Sighing, he went back to the bed and pulled Sakuno into his arms. "We don't really have to stay for lunch, there's still time to get away …"

" Would you rather we leave right now?" She turned anxious eyes to his, "I am fine with whatever you decide."

He stared at her soft lips, his eyes narrowing slightly in the way Sakuno was starting to recognize, mumbled absently that he would have to think about it, before he captured those lips with his own.

Someone knocked on the door gently while they were getting lost in each other. "Ryoma, akete yo." A woman's voice came from the other side.

For the second time that day, Ryoma was annoyed, but since he had never dared go against his sweet but stern mother, he resignedly got up and made to open the door.

In two minutes, his mother had kidnapped Sakuno in the most well executed unplanned operation ever. She did it so pleasantly neither Ryoma or Sakuno had a chance to react. They were setting up base in the kitchen, and Sakuno was probably getting interrogated over the clanking of pots and pans. Ryoma thought of rescuing her, but didn't want to invade the feminine domain, in case he was cruelly enslaved to do horrible kitchen chores. Sakuno would have to fend for herself in there, he had a feeling she could survive better than him in the female dominated arena. He would no doubt see her at lunch, which was in about two more hours.

In the meantime, he grabbed a racket and went to challenge his Oyaji to a game.

By lunch time, his mother, his cousin and his lover were fast friends. Ryoma sat blinking in disbelief while Rinko showed off Sakuno's culinary achievements like a proud mother. Nanako was happily nodding along to her compliments, adding hertwo cents' worth every now and then. Sakuno tried to demur accordingly and couldn't stop blushing at the excessive praise. Nanjiroh was entertaining the world at large with embarrassing episodes of Ryoma's childhood. Ryoma could only sulk, completely neglected by his family, throughout the boisterous meal.

Ryoma insisted on leaving soon after lunch. Considering the damage Nanjiroh had done in an hour over the meal, he didn't want to stick around for more. While the females said their lengthy goodbyes, Nanjiroh frog-marched his son to the small courtyard.

"_Nan no go yous ka_ (lit. What is your honored purpose)," Ryoma asked sarcastically, once they were out of earshot from the entryway.

"Have patience, young thing! Your esteemed father is here to help you! I shall teach you how to assuage your raging hormones with that lovely girl who is now talking to your mother." Nanjiroh intoned, oblivious to the color that stole up his son's neck as the implication of his words hit home.

"Yadda," Ryoma choked out and quickly turned to fetch Sakuno from the house, trying to cover his embarrassment. Of all the people in the world, he didn't need his perverted Oyaji to teach him about that!

Nanjiroh's hand snaked out and caught his son's collar. He continued talking to the back of Ryoma's head, not missing a single beat. "First of all, you must always use protection, like condoms. I can recommend this brand which comes in a variety of flavors, the latest one's chocolate, isn't that Grrreat?" Nanjiroh was in lecture mode and wouldn't be able to stop even if he could see his son's face turn white.

Ryoma was suitably disturbed, he had forgotten all about Lesson 101 in adulthood. Damn, he needed to talk to Sakuno, and fast! Shrugging off his Oyaji's hand, interrupting the older man's speech on G-spots, he quickly went into the house. At the entryway, he grabbed the bag he packed for himself and Karupin in one hand and pulled Sakuno out the door with the other, mumbling a goodbye to his mother and cousin.

Her arms full with the cat, Sakuno could only follow as best she could. They strode past Nanjiroh in the courtyard, and Sakuno called out a polite farewell while Ryoma simply ignored his father.

Nanjiroh stood staring after his son thoughtfully. If he could hazard a guess, he would say the young thing had already gotten lucky with the Ryuuzaki girl. He could only hope the boy had not gotten himself into trouble as well. Ah, how wonderful to be young!


	14. C14

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

At a suitable distance from the Echizen residence, Ryoma suddenly slowed down and caught Sakuno around the waist when she couldn't stop in time. Karupin protested loudly at being squashed between the two humans, so Ryoma quickly eased back before his cat became feline pancake. One arm around Sakuno and staring seriously into her eyes, he quietly asked, "Ne, what are the chances of you being pregnant after this morning?"

Sakuno was surprised that he suddenly brought up this topic, and in such a serious mood, too. She considered her reply very carefully and answered, "Not much, my last period just ended on Monday." Just in case, she would have to check if there was a spell or potion for preventing pregnancy, although she sincerely doubted such nature-defying methods existed.

Phew! Ryoma relaxed immediately. He kept his hold on her and started walking again, mentally adding an item to their shopping list. Abruptly his Oyaji's words came floating back to him, 'Chocolate flavored', he wondered why.

They reached the shops and spent an hour discussing favorite dishes while debating what to buy. If it were up to Ryoma, he would have bought nothing but eggs, since he enjoyed chawanmushi and he just found out Sakuno knew how to prepare the treat. Being more experienced at grocery shopping, Sakuno bought a lot of fresh food, some of which Ryoma didn't even recognized in their unprepared state, and of course a lot of eggs.

Sakuno bought some fish flavored crackers for Karupin when she saw the cat staring hard at the vendor, swishing its tail excitedly. Unknown to her, that treat earned her enough kitty points to rival Ryoma's.

Just before they left the street, Ryoma dragged Sakuno into a pharmacy. Sakuno followed him uncertainly. The pharmacy didn't sell food, was he buying medicine? She could heal him if he wasn't feeling well, but she couldn't detect any problems with his health. Understanding downed when they drew to a stop in front of the contraceptives shelf. She remembered that morning, and blushed lightly. Were they going to be doing a lot of that?

She looked around the store for a bit, unable to face him without feeling her cheeks heating up. In the next instant, she did blush furiously. So occupied was Ryoma with the wide selection available that he had successfully ignored the curious looks strangers were sending their way. He was asking her opinion on which type she preferred which brought more looks from the other shoppers.

Remembering that she was a witch, and was supposed to thrive on attention, Sakuno took a deep breath and beamed innocently at the other people in the shops until they looked away in embarrassment at being caught staring. In the end, unable to differentiate between all the types of condoms available, Ryoma decided on the latest product, yes, the chocolate flavored one. At the counter display, he couldn't resist buying one each of a series of hot spring bath salts that just came onto the market. Those could come in useful later.

It was late by the time they reached her street; the sky was stained red by the sun that was about to drop beyond the horizon.

Just as they were unlocking the door, Sakuno felt an extraordinarily dark aura coming up behind them. Spinning around quickly, she saw an older boy wearing sunglasses and carrying a black umbrella, standing not ten feet away from her.

A feeling of dread sank into her. She couldn't see the boy's eyes, but his general expression told her he was scowling at her. By her witch's intuition, she had strong suspicions that he was the character who haunted her dreams. Was he here to avenge her counter attack on him last night?

Trying not to panic, Sakuno quietly asked Ryoma to go into the house, using her power to open the door at the same time. The house was at least protected, but the street was not. Her foremost thought was to keep him safe while she sorted this out on her own. In a direct magic contest, she knew she had a high chance of emerging the stronger.

Suddenly remembering the cat in her arms, she bent over and let Karupin follow Ryoma, then continued the staring contest with the stranger. If he tried to touch her now, she swore to herself she would reduce him to so much ash.

The door slid open before Ryoma's eyes, which brought a slight frown to his handsome face. His cat had no such problem though, and was already padding into the house. No one knew the cat instinctively wanted to avoid the high static charge outside the door. Everyone knew what static did to fur.

Ryoma glanced at Sakuno who was facing off the dark haired stranger on the street. They both acted like they knew each other, but the air was crackling with animosity. Curious, Ryoma waited for a second to see what happened next, but the two just stood there with no further movement. It looked like the action wouldn't start for a while, so he obediently went into the house, meaning only to drop off the bags he was carrying and come back again. The door slid shut after him, which called for another thoughtful frown.

Now that they were alone, Sakuno waited to see what the not-so-stranger wanted with her. Three days of hiding in the realm of dreams, and he was finally coming out into the open. After her counter attack last night, he must have either a lot of courage or no sense of decency to be facing her today. Sakuno prepared some strong wind spells in her mind, wind being her choice of weapons since it seldom caused bloodshed but would always remove the offending parties from her vicinity.

The stranger spoke, and successfully plunged her into confusion again. She still didn't understand what he was saying! Can't he speak normal Japanese? Floundering a little because of the communication gap, Sakuno was actually quite relieved to see Ryoma come back out of the house.

"_Ne, ano hito nani o itten nano? Anata wakatteru_?" (lit. what is that person saying? Do you understand him?)

Ryoma smirked and stepped closer to her, putting one arm about her waist, "Mada mada dane. _Omae, motto chanto ni Eigo o benkyou shite hou ga ii yo_." (i.e. You have to work harder on your English)

Ryoma turned to the stranger, "Who are you and what do you want?"

The older boy tossed his stylish hair and replied in an Atobe-like tone, "Vincent du Cruc, Le Vicomte du Cruc. Like I said, I am here to introduce my venerable self to the mademoiselle Ryuuzaki."

Ryoma laughed, "Come back in ten years, maybe she can understand your English by then. Otherwise, I suggest you learn how to speak Japanese." _Che, mada mada da ne. The donkey was trying to pick up his girl!_

The look on Vincent's face was comical. He hesitantly addressed Sakuno again, "Mademoiselle Ryuuzaki doesn't understand English?"

"_Nani o itten da yo. Wakaranaiiteba_!" (lit. What are you saying? I told you I don't understand!) Sakuno's frustration wasevident in her oval face.

Vincent's jaw dropped, "But all those nights, surely you understood … "

Ryoma's eyes flashed, _all those nights_? Just how many nights have the two had together? He knew he was Sakuno's first, so the gaijin couldn't have been with her that way. But the mere idea of her spending time with the weird gaijin at night, or any other time of the day, didn't sit well with him. He turned Sakuno towards him, speaking in a low, controlled voice, "He just said he spent a lot of nights with you, what is this?"

Sakuno flushed, she didn't want to have to explain the dreams. "Ano, the bad dreams I had … I think he caused them…. But, this is the first time I am seeing him in person!" She tried to clarify the issue without giving him the embarrassing details.

Frowning at the strange connection, Ryoma turned back to Vincent. "You are the one who made her cry in her dreams? Ah, whatever! Just leave her alone from now on, understand? If she gets the nightmares again, I will hunt you down and hurt you."

"She cried?" Vincent was incredulous; no female had ever shed tears for him. Ryuuzaki was moved to tears, she must love him! "Mademoiselle Ryuuzaki, allow me to be your humble slave, we can have such wonderful days, and nights, together!"

Sakuno leaned closer to Ryoma at the creepy tone the stranger was directing to her. "Ryoma, _onegai_, tell him to go away, "she pleaded with him.

"Ah, I just did. He seems to have a poor understanding of proper English. He speaks French," Ryoma was getting pissed off by the antics of the older boy.

_Furansu? What was a Furansu Jin doing all the way in Japan, and at her door? That explained the strange language he was using in the dreams. Although he could have been using English, too, but Sakuno really couldn't tell the difference. One gaigokugo lit. foreign language was no different from another_.

"The girl belongs to me. You will shut up and go away." Ryoma spoke slowly and as clearly as he could through clenched teeth.

The sun slipped to the great beyond, taking all the highlights and leaving a dull gray sky. The three teenagers were the only occupants of the quiet street. Vincent dropped his umbrella and took off his sunglasses. His violet eyes twinkled. "No, no, no. The mademoiselle obviously likes moi, you should go away. Please, excusez-nous" So saying, he lifted a hand in front of him and clenched his fist towards Ryoma.

"Arg …" Ryoma was lifted three feet off the ground in one jerking motion; an invisible force was choking him; his hands went up to his throat, ineffectively trying to remove the pressure there.


	15. C15

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

"Ryoma!" Sakuno cried, her arms reaching for him. "Yamenasai!" She commanded Vincent. Sakuno quickly gathered her magic and cast a strong Protection on Ryoma, cutting off the strangle hold Vincent had on him. Ryoma dropped to the ground heavily, panting to catch his breath.

"_Hayaku, naka ni hairi_." (lit. quickly, into the house) She stepped in front of Ryoma, ready to block any attacks for him.

"_D-demo_ …cough cough …"

"_Iikara, hayaku_!" Sakuno had never actually fought with magic before, she didn't know if the backlash would affect Ryoma, so it was best to put some distance between him and the up-coming battle.

For a battle it was, molesting her in dreams was one thing, hurting Ryoma was another! Sakuno summoned all her power, and created a swirl of strong wind around her that effectively forced Ryoma to retreat through the open doorway. Her long hair was teased into a rising crown by the wind, the gold in her eyes flashed dangerously. For the record, Sakuno never looked more intimidating.

"_Omae, nihongo mo eigo mo wakaranai shi, kore o wakarimasen ka_? (lit. you don't understand English or Japanese, so do you understand this?) She whipped the wind towards Vincent, making a small tornado that suspended him in the air and spun him like a top.

"Ahhhh! Stop, stop! I mean no harm,Mademoiselle Ryuuzaki, I mean no harm!" Vincent managed to scream and sound contrite at the same time. Now he knew why his father feared the White witch, she could crush anyone in an instant.

On top of the powerful flash of white light that temporarily blinded him in his own power domainlast night, she had to use sacred White wind magic to attack, Vincent thought miserably. Dark and Light were natural opposites, effective counters for each other. He could try to use his dark powers on her, but the way she easily commanded the winds told him that she had the advantage between the two of them. Vincent would have to avoid clashing with the White magic user if he wanted to go home in one piece.

The winds died down, dropping him back to the ground. Vincent landed on all fours, and had to take a moment to regain his balance from the dizzying ride.

"_Watashi, dare mo koroshitakunai, mou modore yo_," (lit. I don't want to kill anyone, please go back already) Sakuno spoke sternly. The gaijin was causing too much trouble, if anyone else saw her using magic out on the streets, she would have a lot to answer for.

The words didn't make sense to him, but the tone did. "I sincerely apologize for trying to get rid of that human. May I call a truce? Our ancestors were well-acquainted after all, you know," Vincent sent her a beseeching look. If he couldn't have the girl, he could at least work on the mission his father gave him. If the witch cooperated, they would have plenty of time to get to know each other later.

"Nani?" Sakuno asked tiredly. She really didn't want to listen to this strange gaijin anymore.

After watching in silence for the last few minutes, Ryoma spoke up, "Ne, he said your ancestors knew each other."

"Eh? Hontou? Hmm," There was another mention of her ancestors just a few days ago, during that phone call from Mayu. "Masaka …" She suddenly pointed a slim finger at Vincent, makingthe older boycringe in uncertainty. "_Acchi e ike_! _Watashi, Ryuuzaki no miko ni totte, zettai omae-ra ni tsuite nai dakara_." (Go away! I, as witch of Ryuuzaki, will definitely not be associated with you and your kind.)

Sakuno turned to enter the house, facing the cowering stranger for a moment before she closed the door, "_Mou nido kochi e modorena_!" (lit. Don't return here again.)

Vincent stood for a moment. The witch didn't seem to like him very much after all. And he had just lost to a girl younger than him. It really wasn't very well done of him. He would most likely get into trouble if his father ever heard of it. Perhaps it was time for him to disappear …… The Nightwalker vanished into the approaching darkness, planning his early retirement.

Back in the Ryuuzaki house, Sakuno breathed a sigh of relief then quickly spun around to fuss over Ryoma. "Where does it hurt?" she run her hands all over him, checking his aura for any indication of physical damage.

He smiled at the great changes in her countenance, his sweet, brave Sakuno. Ryoma grabbed her hands to still them and anchor her to him. "Ne, where did you learn to do that?" He had just witnessed an incredible performance and was rather impressed with Sakuno's abilities.

"You are okay? Sure?" Sakuno searched his eyes, and saw that he was really all right. Then, with a soft sigh, she collapsed, worn out from all the excitement.


	16. C16

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

"Sakuno!" Ryoma grabbed her before she hit the floor. "Hang in there, I'll get you inside." He swept her into his arms and carried her into the living room, heading for the sofa.

After setting her down carefully, he anxiously studied her face. She was still conscious, her eyes were closed but she looked very tired. "Sakuno? Daijoubu? Is there anything I can do?" He whispered as though mere noise would worsen her condition.

"Un, daijoubu, just let me rest for a while," she spoke softly, yet even the response seemed to cost her greatly. It was more of a nervous breakdown than a power drain, but Sakuno didn't have the energy to explain.

Ryoma sat down and held her, waiting patiently until she felt better. When she felt less dizzy, she sent him to put away the shopping properly and feed Karupin, who was curled up in the armchair and staring at his master and the nice girl. Once the cat followed his master into the kitchen, Sakuno got on with things.

Too weak to walk to the phone, she summoned the wireless handset over to the sofa with a flick of a finger. Then she settled back for the long phone call to Osaka.

Mayu picked up the call, and sounded very cheerful until Sakuno told her about the situation. At that, Mayu turned uncharacteristically serious and asked Sakuno if she wanted any of the elder Ryuuzaki witches to come over and be with her. Sakuno refused politely, explaining that she had a friend with her already.

After that Keijiko was put on the line and Sakuno was treated to the rare experience of being the recipient of the research writer's intricate interview methods. The cool and calm Blue witch systematically prodded Sakuno's memory for every single detail about the gaijin and his magic. Sakuno surprised herself several times when Keijiko drew information from her that she didn't know she had even noticed.

Ryoma came back from the kitchen while Sakuno was telling her aunt about the dreams. She choked halfway in a sentence and pushed at him, silently asking him to go elsewhere. But Ryoma stubbornly refused and elected to sit with his arms around her, leaning in so he could listen in to the conversation as well.

_How rude_! Sakuno pouted for a moment. She didn't mind if he wanted to find out about the "full story" as he put it, but the dreams … she thought it wise to keep that from him.

Keijiko was prompting her over the line, asking rather pointed questions about the dreams. Sakuno flushed when Ryoma's arms tightened around her. _Sigh, there was no turning back now_. She tried to answer with words as innocent as possible, but she could feel Ryoma's aura changing around her. It was just like him to get angry, she thought. She had better have something ready to placate him with later.

Directing her mind towards the kitchen, she started preparing a dinner with fried fish and multiple servings of chawanmushi while she kept up the conversation with her Keijiko ba-chan.

This was all about timing, she thought. Carefully drawing out the phone call with details about the face-to-face meeting, she kept an eye on the activity in the kitchen. Just as everything was ready in there, Keijiko was finally satisfied with her account of the incident.

The blue witch haddecided that that particular gaijinwould have learnt his lesson. And if he could only do what he did to Sakuno, he really wasn't very powerful after all. The centuries between now and then might have diluted the power of the demonized ones, but the witchesshouldn't let down their guard in case of future encounters with other demonized ones. Keijiko would be speaking with Setsuko, the Clan's tactician, as soon as she was able. Together, they would draw up a battle plan so that none of the witches would have to face the enemy alone next time.

Sakuno was saying her goodbyes to Keijiko when Mayu asked to speak with her.

"Sakuno-chan, isn't Sumire Obasama away? And you said you have a friend staying with you? Come, tell your ba-chan, is the friend a girl or a boy?" There was a choked sound coming from behind her, and Ryoma suddenly buried his face against her neck.

"Eh! Ano ne …," Sakuno poked Ryoma with her free elbow, he was definitely laughing and she didn't want his voice to carry into the receiver.

"Hmm? I see, I see. Little Sakuno-chan has grown up, ne," Mayu said gleefully.

"Oba-chan!" She couldn't stop the flush climbing into her cheeks.

"Sou da, sou da," Mayu sounded too cheerful to Sakuno," _Sate_,remember the green notebook that I said you weren't supposed to study yet? Go check thesecond last page in it later, ne?"

"Ha-hai, ba-chan …"

Once she cut off the connection, she turned to face the boy behind her. He was laughing out loud now. The mood was contagious, for although she had been a little annoyed at him earlier on, Sakuno found herself smiling now. He got off the sofa and pulled her up as well, "C'mon, where can we find the green notebook?" He grinned boyishly at the faint blush on her cheeks.

"Mou … Ryoma-kun!" She protested, but in the end had to give in to him. She privately thought that the day she could say "No" to Echizen Ryoma would be when the sky rained gold and the sun came up in the west._Itmight prove beneficialto createRyoma immunity vaccine_, she mused as she led the way, _beneficial to her_. The two of them went upstairs to her room and were soon bent over said notebook, an original copy of the spells and potions Mayu made a living off. Sakuno wasn't supposed to practise the spells in it until she was eighteen.

On the second last page was written, " Protection, Version 2. For females after puberty and before menopause only; no known side effects even after long term use. This spell can be cast multiple times. Each casting will ensure that recipient can avoid pregnancy for the next thirty days, after which fertility will return to normal. Note: doesn't affect menstrual cycle."

There was an embellished spell verse following the instructions, the style was definitely Mayu's handiwork, and a price list was written at the bottom of the page.

"Single women: 2000 yen per casting and 5000 yen for children's charity fund

Married women: 2000 yen per casting and 2000 yen for children's charity fund"

It seemed no one could adopt and adapt better than Ryuuzaki witches.

Awed, Ryoma looked at Sakuno, "Ja, you can do this?"

Sakuno studied the verse, "Un, maa ne."

"Hmm … I wonder if we can get a refund on the chocolate flavored thing, I don't like it much anyway. What do you think?" Not to mention, his Oyaji had recommended it, reason enough to avoid using it if possible.

Sakuno blushed, and turned to leave the room without replying him. Ryoma grinned, followed her out of the room, and purposely asked her opinion again.

It took three cups of chawanmushi to get him to change the topic.


	17. C17

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

That night, as they lay entwined while trying to breathe normally again, Sakuno thought of how Ryoma had accepted her magic so easily. She had thought he wouldn't be ready to hear of it, but there he was that afternoon, standing strong and true in the face of the humanly impossible.

"_Kowakunai ka_?" She whispered against his bare chest.

Ryoma didn't pretend to misunderstand. "Iie, there are many things that I haven't seen in this world. If everything that is new to me makes me afraid, then I should just go live in a cave. And, anyway, we are talking about you. I have never found you scary. Kawaii, yes. Clumsy, sometimes. But I will never be afraid of you," he rolled over to pin her beneath him.

"For the past few months, I was a little afraid of what's going between us," he bent to kiss her lightly, "But no longer. _Dewa, kowakunee yo_." He worshipped her with his body, his soul, and Sakuno gave him everything she had, many times over.

* * *

They spent the golden week living together, doing a multitude of couple activities. They went out for walks, visited his parents again (Sakuno insisted he should go home sometimes), spent the afternoons on their school assignments (She was a great help with his Japanese homework), took Karupin to the vet and fought over what type of cat food to buy for the pet (with the experience of catering to Kurokuro, Sakuno was pretty sure Karupin himself wanted a different brand than what Ryoma bought).

Ryoma managed to coax her into picking up her racket again, and had a great time taking blatant advantage of her on the pretext of correcting her stance. He also had her cast a few of the more interesting spells while he looked on, impressed.

They used a new bath salt everyday, lying in the tub together. They spent the nights keeping each other warm, because, yes, he wanted to do a lot of that.

Saturday rolled around quickly in all that activity. And that morning, Sakuno stood in the kitchen, staring forlornly at the calendar. That was how Ryoma found her when he came downstairs. He came up behind her and gave her a bear hug, "What are you thinking about?" He had seen the calendar, and knew precisely why she was looking sad, but wanted to hear her say it.

Sakuno covered his arms with her own, trying to shake off the despondency. Her grandmother was coming home that afternoon, which meant that Ryoma had to leave that day. The idyllic golden week was coming to an end. "Ne, Obaa-chan will be back today, I will be preparing her favorite food for dinner, will you be staying till then?"

"Hmm," he didn't reply immediately, which made Sakuno feel a little sadder. She reminded herself that they would still see each other in school, but the thought wasn't cheering her up at all.

Ryoma had thought of avoiding the Obaasan until he was good and ready, but decided that was too cowardly. He was an Echizen. No Echizen had cowered before the dragon lady of Seigaku, and he didn't want to be the first. He meant to get it over with as soon as possible.

"Can we have chawanmushi as well, I like the way you make it," He murmured against her hair.

Sakuno's heart lifted. "Anything you ask, anything at all," she replied with a smile.

"Souka? Then I ask this," He turned her around and "asked" her very thoroughly.

They brought Karupin out for a walk after lunch, although the cat's paws didn't actually touched the ground. Sakuno carried it all the way. When they stopped at a bench, it curled up comfortably in her lap. Ryoma accused his cat of being a lazy bum, but got the feline version of the finger when Karupin merely waved its tail in his face. Sakuno didn't need previous encounters with such feline behavior to know that Ryoma was being snubbed by the Himalayan cat, and was hard put not to laugh out loud.

They went home to cuddle in private while the lazy cat napped in front of the TV. Sakuno had had a variety of cleaning chores done while they were out, to prepare for her grandmother's homecoming.

Ryoma had to go home that night after dinner, and the two of them spent some time gathering his things.

"Are you sure that's everything? The bag looks rather empty," Sakuno was checking the contents to make sure all of his and Karupin's stuff were packed already. Wouldn't a human and a cat need more stuff than this for a whole week? "I will go check if you left anything in the guestroom," she said as she turned around.

Ryoma only spent a few hours in the guestroom, on the first night, so he knew there was nothing left in there. He drawled, "Sou da ne, there are too few things in here. Ja, can you make yourself smaller? I was thinking of dragging you back by your hair, but you would be a lot easier to transport if you can get into the bag."

Sakuno blushed predictably, "Mou, that's for cavemen only!"

"Tried and tested! Whatever works, " he shrugged. She pouted and left the room, making him grin.

Sumire came home soon after. She didn't appear surprised to see Ryoma at her house, merely greeted the teenagers warmly then went upstairs to put away her things and freshen up.

The three sat down with cups of green tea while they chatted about the mountain trip. Sumire noted with some satisfaction that Ryoma was more sociable when Sakuno was with him than otherwise. Her mago was definitely a positive influence on the tennis player.

Sakuno was careful not to let her grandmother into the kitchen, making Ryoma do all the legwork instead. Dinner was cooking, and Ryoma was better adapted to the scene than Sumire was. Ryoma didn't mind making the effort, since he rather enjoyed watching dinner prepare itself. Now, that was the best kind of life! Food would get itself ready and chores could be done without him lifting a finger, what more could he ask for? Other than an amazinggirl who held the key to his heart, of course.

They talked over dinner, chatting about tennis and school. The meal was enjoyable, perhaps doubly so for Ryoma, since Sakuno make extra chawanmushi for him.

Sakuno stayed in the kitchen to oversee the cleaning up and plan the meals for the next day. She sent the other two into the living room with shooing motions, and the suggestion to watch some TV, so she could "take care of things".


	18. C18

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

Sumire and Ryoma settled down in the living room with Karupin, who had also enjoyed an excellent dinner: it did like the brand of cat food Sakuno insisted on buying for it better than the old type.

It's now or never, Ryoma thought, and mentally rehearsed his speech one last time.

"Ryuuzaki sensei," he brought out the keys he never used and placed them on the coffee table in front of Sumire, "I have done as you asked," mostly, "and I have a favor to ask of you in return." He turned gold cat-like eyes to his ex-coach.

"Arigatou, Ryoma. Ja, what can I do for you?" Sumire eyed the keys and met the solemn face of her favorite tennis prodigy.

"Please give me permission to be with Sakuno. I have the intention to marry her when we are older." So far so good, everything was going by the script, he thought.

"Hn," Sumire leaned back on the sofa, her eyes twinkling in merriment. "Well, by the custom of our Clan, you have to present her with a token of your pledge. What important item have you got for her?"

Damn, she skipped the part where she was supposed to ask him how he intended to support his wife. Ryoma had made a lot of money winning tournaments even before he came to Japan. That was an advantage for him, and he wanted to let the Obaasan know that he had been financially independent since age ten and would continue to be so to the best of his ability.

And what was that about a token? He knew he should have discussed this with Sakuno first, but he really wanted to surprise her with his initiative. He paused for a moment while he quickly rewrote the script in his mind.

"If you will allow me to take her out tomorrow, I will get her an engagement ring by the end of the day."

"Hn," Sumire knew the boy had made some money in the states, but didn't know he was rich enough to buy rings any day of the week. She actually didn't expect him to get a ring as a token; by tradition the token was something old and sentimental, for example a favorite paper fan. Guessed that's what came of growing up in a western country, she thought, him thinking that something new and expensive was important.

The couple's financial needs were hardly her main concern; Sakuno had a sizable inheritance from her parents that Sumire was supposed to release into her control when she hit eighteen, or when she got married, whichever came first. There was enough to set her up for a few years until she had a stable job. But, money was money, and throwing cash away just didn't fit into the way Sumire was brought up.

She decided to assume her duty as elder and hopefully save the boy some hard-earned cash. "The token has to be something important to the man, not necessarily a newly minted ring bought in a shop," she gently reminded him.

Sakuno came into the living room just then; having made sure everything was cleaned up in the kitchen. Ryoma quickly lowered his voice and replied, "Wakarimashita."

Hmm, so the boy was keeping Sakuno in the dark. Interesting. She eyed her granddaughter who was approaching the sofa. "Sakuno, be a good girl and fetch the family album for your grandmother. I want to show Ryoma some pictures."

"Hai, Obaa-chan," Sakuno went on the errand unquestioningly.

"Ja, Ryoma," Sumire continued in a normal voice after Sakuno left the room, "I will accept your word that you will give Sakuno the token tomorrow. On one condition," She paused, and almost smiled at the glint of suspicion in the cat-like eyes, "when you give it to her, I want you to promise her that you will take good care of her for the rest of your life. This old woman doesn't want to hear all the mushy details, but I want you to make her the promise and keep it."

Ryoma nodded once. He intended to do all that.

"And then," this time, Sumire turned to face the boy, "you can tell her that I have given my permission. She will have some things to tell you about our Clan, which I hope you can listen to with an open heart and mind. Have I made myself clear?"

"If you are referring to her magic, I have already seen it," Ryoma stated, "And I will do everything as you asked. Arigatou, sensei."

"Hn," Sumire lifted her brows. Here were more interesting facts. The boy didn't seem bothered by Sakuno's gift. Sumire considered that thoughtfully, her mago had made a good choice indeed.

Sakuno came back again, carrying the family album that held pictures of her branch of the Clan from Sumire onwards. Her parents' photos were in there, and Sakuno often studied them when she missed her parents. She was glad Sumire asked her to get the album; she wanted Ryoma to see those pictures too.

The three pored over the pictures, pausing now and then when Sumire recounted anecdotes and fond memories to the youngsters.

Later that night, as Sakuno was sending Ryoma off from the entryway, Ryoma asked her out the next day. She was happy to go and agreed to be picked up in the morning. Making sure that Sumire wasn't looking, they shared one last kiss before parting. Ryoma had a bit of problem with Karupin when the cat didn't seem to want to move when he was leaving.

By the feline's estimation, he got better food when the girl was around, which covered for the fact that they run out of bed space for him at night. Hmm, his young master or the girl? The decision was made for him when his master lifted him off the ground.

Soon, boy and cat were leaving the place that had been home to them for a week.


	19. C19

PoT Ryosaku (PG-13)

Consequences (Sequel to Finding Me Finding You)

By angelhazel

Disclaimer: I asked, very nicely, but they refused to send me the legal rights. Damn!

* * *

Ryoma spent the evening racking his brains for something "important" to him that he could give Sakuno as a token. He grabbed his racket and went to hit a ball against a wall, an exercise that helped him to think. 

He considered the things important to him one by one. Tennis was important. Sakuno was important, too. She had just shifted to the top of his list of motivations, sharing space with his tennis. But how could he give tennis to her? He whacked the ball against the wall as he considered his life in tennis.

When did it start? Actually, he couldn't remember, he probably started playing since he could walk. Ryoma wouldn't put it past his baka Oyaji to buy a toddler Ryoma a tennis set just to see the miniature Echizen try swinging a racket. He couldn't recall his early years, but wouldn't be surprised if all his toys were tennis-related.

He didn't know when he started playing, but he could find out when he started winning. His kaasan kept all the medals and trophies Ryoma and Nanjiroh ever won. Maybe she was willing to part with a medal from his childhood, he would have to ask her. Catching the ball neatly in his hand, Ryoma went back to the house to find his mother.

* * *

The next day, Ryoma took Sakuno out on their first official date. They went to the amusement park and spent many hours exploring the huge place. 

Neither Ryoma nor Sakuno noticed the pair of eyes that had started to follow them ever since they stepped into the crowded park. That person got on the phone and made several calls as Ryoma and Sakuno tried out ride after ride.

Soon, someone else joined in the stalker, and another, and another.

Ryoma kept a firm arm around Sakuno, there were too many people around and he didn't want her to get lost. As they moved around the park, Ryoma stole kisses as often as he could, delighted that Sakuno would blush at the public display of affection every time. He didn't think much of the occasional camera flashes around him. There were quite a few people walking around with cameras around their necks, after all. Sakuno was too busy hiding her flushed face to observe their surroundings.

After trying every ride once, and going on the ferris wheel twice because there was more privacy in the cars hanging up in the air, Ryoma and Sakuno had a late lunch and shared ice creams at a fast food parlor. It was fun going on rides, and equally great just being together.

Ryoma was occupied with teasing Sakuno and didn't notice they were being observed from the café across the street. Sakuno's intuition wasn't giving her any danger signals, and the place was just too packed with people for her to pick out any individual auras.

Late afternoon, he walked her home, trailed by a group of people at a safe distance. After they turned into her street, Ryoma suggested going to the small park for a while. Hand in hand, they strolled to the park and chose a secluded bench to rest on. The wind rustled through the leaves of the clump of trees and bushes some thirty meters away.

"Fshuu …….."

The couple sat in comfortable silence while enjoying the slight breeze. After a while, Ryoma stuck a hand into his pocket and brought out a gold medal, polished to a dull shine even after so many years. He cleared his throat.

"Sakuno, this is the very first Under-Twelve's Championship medal I received back in California. I don't actually remember the tournament now, but according to kaasan, I was the only seven-year old participating." He reached out to pull her closer, letting her settle comfortably in his arms before he continued.

"You once asked me when I started playing, and I really don't know the answer to that. This, however, has the oldest date among the stuff kaasan kept from my competitions, it marks the day I started winning, so I am going to treat this as the beginning of my playing tennis."

Taking her hand, he put the medal into it, and closed his hand over hers. "I want you to have it."

Sakuno turned towards him, her gold-speckled eyes glimmering softly. "Ryoma, this medal is very important to you, I can't just take it…"

He gave a sigh of relief inwardly. He had never thought much of the medals and trophies he got from competitions, and although this medal had some kind of sentimental value, he had been worried that the token he chose would not fit the bill of "important".

"I want you to have it," he repeated in a stubborn tone.

Sakuno turned back to look at their joined hands, and whispered, "Iie, Ryoma, you don't understand. The rules of my Clan say that … "

"I know," he cut short her quiet protest, "I have spoken with Ryuuzaki sensei, and she has given me permission." He heard her soft gasp and leaned forward to look into her face. She was smiling tremulously and gazing in wonder at the old medal.

Marriage. He was talking about marriage. It was a dream come true, the best dream ever, she thought.

Ryoma smiled contentedly, and leaned back on the bench. "Ne, you are probably not paying attention to me right now, so I will take this chance to make you a promise you won't hear and will never be able to recall in future," he paused for breath, then launched into his version of the traditional western marriage vow.

"Ryuuzaki Sakuno, I promise to love you, comfort you, honor and keep you, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy. I will cherish and adore you, and only you, for as long as we both shall live."

Sakuno turned around within the circle of his arms and looked searchingly into his eyes, her own were filled with unshed tears. "Are you sure you know what you are in for? You already know my Clan's secrets, I cannot forsake my gift," she whispered, "There might be more danger like what you met the other day…"

Ryoma took her face between his hands and wiped away the wetness with his thumbs. He smiled and kissed her lightly. "Let them come, I will be beside you all the way."

She returned his smile through the tears that kept on falling. "Then I accept the token of your pledge, Echizen Ryoma, and in turn, I give you mine. I promise to love you, comfort you, honor and keep you, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy. I will cherish and adore you, and only you, for as long as we both shall live."

She touched her lips to his softly, drew back a little and continued in a witch's oath, "I give unto you my body and my spirit, my power and my protection, on my word as a witch. This seals my vow to you," she leaned in and kissed him deeply. After a long time, she sat back and asked smiling luminously, "Did I forget anything?"

"No, you got everything. I am the one who had left out something," He mumbled as he stared at her lips through heavy-lidded eyes. "Here, let me make up for it," he pulled her back for another kiss, and it lasted longer than the last.

After they left the park to give Sumire the good news, the trees and bushes came to life.

"But they are still so young! They shouldn't be kissing like that …"

"Maa maa, true love is not limited by age. Don't they look good together?"

"Ochibi-chan is so sweet nyaa, he gave Ryuuzaki-chan a present …"

"Ii data. Echizen can hold his breath for five minutes …"

"ii na, seishun da. I also want a cute girlfriend na."

"Fshuu…..If he marries her, he's going to have Ryuuzaaki sensei as in-law …. Fshuu…"

Silence reigned for a long moment.

Then theother trees and bushes started making sounds of discomfort.

"Better the gaki then anyone else, though. Fshuu ..."

-owari-

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A/N: That's it folks. Big thanks to the reviewers who lifted my spirit: Lana Usegi:), papaya love, LoTuS fLoWeR, it was good of you guys to encourage me, I have posted the entire fic at one shot for your reading pleasure and i hope you will like the ending. This is for you. 


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